Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Urinary tract infection bacteria and antibiotic resistance in dogs
By López-Córdova, J et al.·Published in The Journal of small animal practice·2025·Laboratorio de Microbiologí·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of uropathogens in dogs and cats with signs of urinary tract infection.
Plain-English summary
A study found that many dogs and cats showing signs of urinary tract infections (UTIs) had bacteria in their urine, with the most common culprit being Escherichia coli. In dogs, especially senior females, 37.7% of urine samples tested positive for bacteria, while 26.1% of cats were affected. The research revealed that a significant number of these bacteria were resistant to common antibiotics like amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin, making treatment more challenging. This highlights the importance of discussing UTI symptoms and appropriate treatments with your veterinarian, especially if your pet has recurring infections.
People also search for: dog urinary tract infection treatment · cat UTI symptoms · antibiotic resistance in pets
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of uropathogens in dogs and cats with signs of urinary tract infection and to characterise their antimicrobial susceptibility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Urine samples from canine and feline patients with clinical signs of urinary tract infection were collected between September 2015 and December 2019 in Santiago, Chile. Bacterial identification and bacterial susceptibility profile was performed through biochemical and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. RESULTS: Four hundred sixty-six samples from dogs (37.7%) and 152 from cats (26.1%) showed bacterial growth. Positive samples were mainly from females (dogs: 52.8%; cats: 48.0%), with the highest infection rates in senior dogs (57.7%) and adult cats (45.4%). A single organism caused the infection in 78.2% of the cases, whereas the remaining 21.8% corresponded to a mixed infection. The most prevalent isolated pathogen in dogs and cats was Escherichia coli (42.6% and 49.7%, respectively). Staphylococcus spp. (15.6% and 14.6%), Enterococcus spp. (8.6% and 15.2%) and Proteus spp. (9.7% and 6.4%) were also commonly isolated. A total of 52.4% of Escherichia coli isolates were resistant to amoxicillin, 44.3% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 40.0% to cephradine and 25.3% to ciprofloxacin. Regarding the other three uropathogens commonly isolated in this study, all of them showed a percentage of resistance to the antimicrobials analysed. In addition, 24.6% of multidrug resistance was detected in the E. coli isolates. Penicillin, cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones showed the lowest susceptibility levels. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The observed high rates of resistance to commonly prescribed antimicrobials raise concerns for public health.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39537563/