Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antibiotic resistance in dog and cat E. coli infections in the US
By Boothe, Dawn et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2012·Department of Anatomy, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Antimicrobial resistance and pharmacodynamics of canine and feline pathogenic E. coli in the United States.
Plain-English summary
This study looked at how resistant certain strains of E. coli bacteria are in dogs and cats across the United States. Researchers tested samples from 301 dogs and 75 cats, mostly from urine, and found that resistance to antibiotics was highest in samples from the southern and central regions of the country. The antibiotics tested included amoxicillin, doxycycline, and others, with amoxicillin showing the highest resistance at about 46%. The findings suggest that treating infections caused by these bacteria could be challenging, as some commonly used antibiotics may not work well. Overall, the study indicates that while some antibiotics may still be effective, resistance is a significant concern.
Abstract
Percent resistance and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were described for canine (n = 301) and feline (n = 75) pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates solicited during May 2005 to Sep 2005 from the Clinical Pharmacology Laboratory at Auburn University (n = 165) or commercial diagnostic laboratories ([CDL]; n = 211) from four regions in the USA. Drugs tested were amoxicillin (AMX), amoxicillin trihydrate/clavulanate potassium (AMXC), cefpodoxime (CFP), doxycycline (DXY), enrofloxacin (ENR), gentamicin (GM) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMS). Urinary isolates were most common (n = 174). Percent resistance was greatest for isolates from the respiratory tract, urine, and skin compared with the ear. Resistance was also greatest for samples sent from the south and central states compared with the western states (P ≤ 0.001). Percent resistance by drug was AMX (46 ± 2.6%) > AMXC (37 ± 2.5%) > CFP (21.8 ± 2%) = DXY (22 ± 2.1%) = ENR (20 ± 2.1%) = TMS (19 ± 2%) > GM (12 ± 1.7%). There was a significant difference in resistance between the different antibiotic drugs (P ≤ 0.001). Population MIC distributions were bimodal, and MICs were highest in samples from the southern states (P ≤ 0.001). E. coli resistance may limit its empirical treatment. For susceptible isolates, AMX and AMXC may be least effective and TMS most effective.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23033458/