{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T21:03:57Z","timestamp":1790197437248,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]],"date-time":"2026-04-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775865600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli has increasingly been recognized as a pathogen capable of causing severe systemic infections in various animal species. However, reports describing respiratory and septicemic infections caused by MDR E. coli in guinea pigs remain scarce. The objective of this report was to describe the clinical, pathological, and microbiological findings associated with a fatal infection in a domestic guinea pig. Case Study: A 10-month-old female guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), kept as a companion animal in a household environment, presented with acute respiratory distress, lethargy, and anorexia, progressing rapidly to death within approximately 36 h of onset. Post-mortem examination revealed severe pulmonary congestion, diffuse inflammatory lesions in the trachea, and generalized vascular congestion in multiple organs. Bacteriological cultures obtained from lung and bone marrow samples yielded pure growth of Escherichia coli. Identification was confirmed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing demonstrated resistance to several antibiotic classes, including \u03b2-lactams, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and phenicols, while susceptibility was retained only to aminoglycosides. Molecular analysis revealed the presence of virulence genes involved in adhesion and iron acquisition, supporting the pathogenic potential of the isolate. Conclusions: This report highlights the ability of MDR E. coli to cause severe respiratory and systemic infections in guinea pigs. The findings underline the importance of early diagnosis, appropriate antimicrobial stewardship, and improved husbandry conditions in preventing such infections. From a One Health perspective, the circulation of resistant strains in companion animals may represent a potential risk for both environmental and human health.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13040370","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T08:49:02Z","timestamp":1776070142000},"page":"370","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Causing Respiratory and Systemic Infection in a Guinea Pig (Cavia porcellus) in Romania: A Case Report"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2531-6469","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandru","family":"Gligor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vlad","family":"Iorgoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9380-1985","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula","family":"Nistor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1684-7324","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sebastian Alexandru","family":"Popa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Science \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-6286-5523","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ionela","family":"Popa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Semiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8913-4942","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ionica","family":"Iancu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ileana","family":"Nichita","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Science \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6057-882X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kalman","family":"Imre","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Production and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Science \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5149-2127","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emil","family":"T\u00eerziu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Science \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d, 300645 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7118-6488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Viorel","family":"Herman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences \u201cKing Mihai I\u201d from Timi\u015foara, 300645 Timi\u015foara, Romania"},{"name":"Academy of Romanian Scientists (AOSR), Splaiul Independen\u021bei 3, Sector 5, 050094 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1128\/microbiolspec.ARBA-0026-2017","article-title":"Antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli","volume":"6","author":"Poirel","year":"2018","journal-title":"Microbiol. 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