Abstract
Pet animals are assumed to be potential reservoirs in transferring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to humans due to the extensively applied broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents and their close contact with humans. In this study, microbiological data and antimicrobial susceptibility results of dog (n = 5,086) and cat (n = 789) clinical samples from a private Laboratory of Diagnosis in Barcelona were analyzed. Samples came from different counties of the Iberian Peninsula during 2016–2018. In dogs, clinical samples were most commonly from otitis, and in cats from wounds, respiratory tract infections and conjunctivitis. In both pet groups, Staphylococcus spp. (31% in dogs vs 30% in cats), Streptococcus spp. (19% vs 17%), Pseudomonas spp. (16% vs 10%), Escherichia coli (8% vs 5.6%), and Enterococcus spp. (5.5% vs 6.8%) were shown as the most predominant bacteria. However, higher frequencies of P. aeruginosa, P. canis, and S. pseudintermedius were found in dogs, while S. aureus and P. multocida were more prevalent in cats. The antimicrobial susceptibility testing demonstrated that Enterococcus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. presented the highest levels of AMR in both dogs and cats. Within the Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli showed low levels of AMR compared to Klebsiella, Proteus, or Enterobacter spp. Respiratory tract infections caused by K. pneumoniae presented higher AMR in cats. By contrast, Pasteurella isolates from the respiratory tract were highly sensitive to all the antimicrobials in cats and dogs. Data from this study could be used to guide empirical antimicrobial selection in companion animal veterinary practices in the Iberian Peninsula.
Highlights
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a great concern worldwide, threatening the public healthcare system (Brinkac et al, 2017)
If AMR can be transmitted to humans from companion animals, and if multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria exist among the household pets, the risk of antimicrobial treatment failure would highly increase in both animals and humans
Staphylococcus spp. (31–30%), Streptococcus spp. (19–17%) and Pseudomonas spp. (16–10%), followed by Escherichia coli (8.0–5.6%), and Enterococcus spp. (5.5–6.8%), were the most predominant bacteria isolated in both dogs and cats (Table 1)
Summary
The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a great concern worldwide, threatening the public healthcare system (Brinkac et al, 2017). Some studies assumed that food animals were the main contributors of human AMR by transferring resistant bacteria or genes through food chain (Witte, 1998; Fey et al, 2002; Smith et al, 2002; White et al, 2002; Angulo et al, 2009; McEwen and Fedorka-Cray, 2017). The companion animals, mostly dogs and cats, started to be considered a potential reservoirs of AMR due to their close contact with humans and being extensively treated by broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents (Guardabassi et al, 2004; Lloyd, 2007). Understanding the prevalence of AMR among pets, mainly dogs and cats, is demanded from both veterinary and human medicine perspectives. Due to the clinical cases are not always entirely recorded and monitored, the available data on pet-related AMR are very minimal
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