Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Bacterial Uropathogens Isolated from Dogs and Cats

Abstract

Bacterial urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common diagnosis in companion animal practice and is one of the leading reasons for antimicrobial prescriptions. We analysed 1862 samples from the urinary tract of dogs and cats, submitted to a veterinary microbiological diagnostic laboratory in 2019 and 2020 in Germany. Susceptibility of 962 uropathogenic isolates to 15 antimicrobials, suggested as first- and second-line treatment options for UTI, was determined according to CLSI recommendations. Bacterial growth of uropathogens was detected in 43.9% of dog and in 38.5% of cat samples. Escherichia (E.) coli was the most frequently isolated pathogen (48.4%), followed by Enterococcus spp. (11.9%) and coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS; 11.5%). Females were more likely to exhibit a positive microbiological culture. Regarding first-line antibiotics, 93.4% of the most commonly isolated uropathogenic species were susceptible to the first-line antibiotics amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC) and 87.6% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT), while 76.1% showed decreased susceptibility to ampicillin (AMP). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was detected in 11.9% of E. coli, 50.4% of enterococci, and 42.7% of CoPS; 90.6% of these isolates were susceptible to nitrofurantoin (NIT). Our data indicate that empiric treatment of UTI with AMC or SXT could be recommended and is preferable to treatment with AMX. NIT should be considered for the treatment of MDR uropathogens.

Keywords: E. coli; MDR; enterococci; guidelines; nitrofurantoin (NIT); prevalence; staphylococci; urinary tract infection.

Figure 1

Prevalence of bacterial species recovered from the urinary tract of dogs (n = 697 isolates) and cats (n = 313 isolates). Other species: Acinetobacter spp., Aerococcus viridans, Alcaligenes faecalis, Citrobacter freundii, Corynebacterium spp., Leclercia adecarboxylata, Morganella morganii, Pasteurella spp., Providencia stuartii, Pseudescherichia vulneris, Rahnella spp., Raoultella planticola, Serratia marcescens, and Stenotrophomonas spp.

Figure 2

Percentages of antimicrobial substances used for the treatment of UTI in 43 dogs and 9 cats based on questionnaire data. Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (AMC), amoxicillin (AMX), cefovecin (CFV), enrofloxacin (ENR), marbofloxacin (MAR), pradofloxacin (PRA), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT), and others (florfenicol, doxycycline, and unknown antibiotic agents).

Figure 3

Distribution of MIC data of 66 canine and 50 feline enterococci for the antimicrobials ENR, PRA, AMC, and AMP. acc. = according.