Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cats in Italy with skin infections and allergies - what bacteria were
By Cavana, Paola et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2023·Department of Veterinary Sciences, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Staphylococci isolated from cats in Italy with superficial pyoderma and allergic dermatitis: Characterisation of isolates and their resistance to antimicrobials.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 41 cats in Italy with skin allergies and superficial pyoderma (a type of skin infection) were studied to see if certain bacteria called Staphylococcus were involved. The researchers found that 36 of the cats had Staphylococcus bacteria on their skin, with Staphylococcus aureus being the most common. Many of these bacteria showed resistance to common antibiotics, which means they might not respond well to standard treatments. However, semi-synthetic penicillins were still effective as a first-line treatment. This highlights the importance of testing for antibiotic resistance in cats with skin infections.
People also search for: cat skin infection treatment · allergic dermatitis in cats · Staphylococcus aureus in cats · antibiotic resistance in cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In cats, superficial pyoderma traditionally is considered rare and few reports are available. There is a particular lack of studies concerning Staphylococcus species associated with pyoderma in subjects affected by allergic skin diseases. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: (i) To evaluate the association between Staphylococcus spp. and superficial pyoderma in allergic cats and (ii) to characterise isolated staphylococci and analyse their antimicrobial resistance patterns. ANIMALS: Forty-one cats with allergic dermatitis and superficial pyoderma in Italy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin swabs were cultured for the isolation of Staphylococcus spp. Species identification was performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry and 16S-rRNA sequencing. Staphylococcus aureus isolates were further characterised by staphylococcal protein A gene-typing. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by the disk diffusion method. RESULTS: Staphylococci were isolated from 36/41 cats sampled and 39 different isolates were identified. Uneven distribution of staphylococcal species was observed among different body locations. The 39 isolates were S. aureus (n = 15), S. felis (n = 10), S. pseudintermedius (n = 8) and other staphylococci (n = 6). Eight different S. aureus spa-types associated with human clonal complexes were identified. Antimicrobial resistance was observed to penicillin (56.4%), tetracycline (46.2%), enrofloxacin (33.3%), erythromycin (28.2%), amikacin (25.6%), clindamycin (23.1%), marbofloxacin (15.4%), gentamicin (12.8%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (10.3%), chloramphenicol (7.7%) and cefoxitin/oxacillin (5.1%). Fifteen isolates (38.4%) were multidrug-resistant while meticillin resistance was associated only with S. pseudintermedius. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These results confirm that S. aureus, S. pseudintermedius, and S. felis are frequently associated with superficial pyoderma in allergic cats. Semi-synthetic penicillins remain a suitable first-line treatment in this study, yet the high prevalence of antimicrobial resistant isolates suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility testing should be performed routinely.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36221849/