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. 2022 Oct 31;11(11):1520.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11111520.

Bacterial Isolates from Urinary Tract Infection in Dogs and Cats in Portugal, and Their Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern: A Retrospective Study of 5 Years (2017-2021)

Andreia Garcês  1   2   3 , Ricardo Lopes  1   3 , Augusto Silva  1 , Filipe Sampaio  1 , Daniela Duque  1 , Paula Brilhante-Simões  1   3
Affiliations

Bacterial Isolates from Urinary Tract Infection in Dogs and Cats in Portugal, and Their Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern: A Retrospective Study of 5 Years (2017-2021)

Andreia Garcês et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

There are growing concerns regarding the rise of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in companion animals. This study aimed to bring new insights into the current scenario of Portugal's antimicrobial resistance bacteria isolated from companion animals with urinary tract infections and is the first to be performed during a long period on a large scale. Of a total of 17472 urine samples analyzed, 12,166 (69.6%) (CI 12,200-12,200) were negative for bacterial growth, and 5306 (30.4%) (95% CI 5310-5310) had bacterial growth. Of the culture-positive samples, 5224 (96.6%) (95% CI 5220-5220) were pure cultures and 82 (3.2%) (95% CI 81.9-82.1) had mixed growth. Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated bacteria (n=2360, 44.5%) (95% CI 2360-2360), followed by Proteus mirabilis (n=585, 11%) (95% CI 583-583), Enterococcus faecium (n=277, 5.2%) (95% CI 277-277) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n=226, 4.3%) (95% CI 226-226). The overall susceptibility rates were low for erythromycin (45.3%) and clindamycin (51.3%), and high for aminoglycosides (96.3%), carbapenems (92.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (81.2%), and quinolones (79.9%). E. coli also showed considerable resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. The rates of multidrug-resistant bacteria are still high compared to the northern countries of Europe. This study's findings show the emergence of antibiotic resistance in the antibiotic agents commonly used in the treatment of UTIs in dogs and cats in Portugal.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance; bacteria; cat; dog; urinary infection; zoonoses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Negative and positive cultures grown from the 17472 urine samples from dogs and cats submitted to the INNO veterinary laboratory between 2017 and 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bacteria species that predominate in the 5306 isolates with positive culture grown from urine samples from dogs and cats submitted to the INNO veterinary laboratory between 2017 and 2021.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Several E. coli isolates were found in every year of the study (2017–2021). The species (dog and cat), sex (female and male), and age (0–5, 6–11, and 12–20 years) in which E. coli was isolated by year.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of resistance in each of the four antibiotic categories according to Emma’s categorisation, in the total of 1335 isolates. The classification comprises four categories: category A—”Avoid”, B—”Restrict”, C—“Caution”, and D—“Prudence”.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Progression of the resistance in the four antibiotic categories according to Emma’s categorisation of the 1335 isolates between 2017 and 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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