Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence
People, Pets, and Plasmids
Multi-drug-resistant organisms in companion animals
Multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) pose a great threat to worldwide public health. MDROs are microbes that spread disease but have evolved to become invulnerable to antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents.
Recent work by the Minnesota Public Health Laboratory and the University of Minnesota’s Veterinary Medicine Center demonstrated that the threat is not limited to humans. In 2022, they analyzed samples from dogs that had been colonized by a dangerous strain of E. coli. The strain turned out to be a type of MDRO called a carbapenemase-producing organism (CPO). Carbapenem is an important antimicrobial used to fight infections across the world, a "last line of defense" in the family of antimicrobials that includes penicillin. By producing carbapenemase, CPOs neutralize carbapenem.
Filling a knowledge gap
There is some evidence that several types of MDROs, including the aforementioned CPOs, have crossed from dogs to humans. However, there has been little research into the transmission of MDROs between pets and people. In the Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence-funded project known as “People, Pets, and Plasmids,” the Public Health Laboratory (PHL) and its partners are trying to fill this gap in knowledge.
The first documented outbreak of CPOs in a veterinary hospital in the U.S. occurred from July 2018 to April 2019. The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine (Penn Vet) published results showing that a strain of carbapenemase-producing E. coli had colonized cats and dogs. Penn Vet and PHL have joined forces in the "People, Pets, and Plasmids" project.
The project aims to further investigate how CPOs arise, how they are spread, and which populations of people and pets are most vulnerable. PHL and Penn Vet will also educate professionals in the veterinary field about CPOs and other MDROs. A goal is to enable veterinary facilities to mount responses to any future outbreaks of these pathogens. PHL and Penn Vet are also well-prepared to respond to any outbreaks, which may involve exploring MDROs in people and animals in real time.
A One Health approach
“People, Pets, and Plasmids” is an example of the One Health approach, which recognizes the need to investigate human, animal, and environmental factors in public health simultaneously. Often, in science, studies are restricted to a small field of inquiry. One Health and other multidisciplinary approaches make important connections that could otherwise be missed.
Through the “People, Pets, and Plasmids” project, PHL and Penn Vet intend to make important strides toward protecting both the human and animal populations from organisms that could spread very dangerous bacteria.