OBJECTIVETo investigate antimicrobial resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates in fecal samples from rat-like animals.

METHODSRat-like animals were captured using cages around a hospital and the neighboring residential area between March and October, 2015. K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa were isolated from the fecal samples of the captured animals. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to the guidelines of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2014).

RESULTSA total of 329 rat-like animals were captured, including 205 Suncus murinus, 111 Rattus norvegicus, 5 Rattus flavipectus and 8 Mus musculus. The positivity rates of K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa were 78.4% and 34.7% in the fecal samples from the captured animals, respectively. K. pneumoniae isolates from Suncus murinus showed a high resistance to ampicillin, cephazolin, nitrofurantoin, piperacillin and cefotaxime (with resistance rates of 100%, 51.2%, 44.2%, 37.2%, and 23.3%, respectively), and K. pneumoniae isolates from Rattus spp. showed a similar drug-resistance profile. The prevalence rates of multidrug resistance and ESBLs were 40.9% and 10.7%, respectively. P. aeruginosa from both Suncus murinus and Rattus spp. exhibited the highest resistance rates to aztreonam (12.4% and 16.0%, respectively), followed by penicillins and fluoroquinolones. P. aeruginosa isolates were susceptible to cephems, aminoglycosides and carbapenems (with resistance rates below 5%).

CONCLUSIONK. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa isolated from rat-like animals showed drug-resistance profiles similar to those of the strains isolated from clinical patients, suggesting that the possible transmission of K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa between rat-like animals and human beings.