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. 2023 May 14;10(5):352.
doi: 10.3390/vetsci10050352.

Current Situation of Bacterial Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles in Pet Rabbits in Spain

Mercedes Fernández  1 , Biel Garcias  1 , Inma Duran  2 , Rafael A Molina-López  3 , Laila Darwich  1
Affiliations

Current Situation of Bacterial Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles in Pet Rabbits in Spain

Mercedes Fernández et al. Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Research on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pet rabbits is very scarce. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the current state of AMR in rabbits attended to in veterinary clinics distributed in Spain. Records of 3596 microbiological results of clinical cases submitted from 2010 to 2021 were analyzed. Staphylococcus spp. (15.8%), Pseudomonas spp. (12.7%), Pasteurella spp. (10%), Bordetella spp. (9.6%) and Streptococcus spp. (6.8%) were the most frequently diagnosed agents. Enterobacteriaceae, principally Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae, accounted for about 18% of the cases and showed the highest proportion of multi-drug resistance (MDR) isolates, with 48%, 57.5% and 36% of MDR, respectively. Regarding the antimicrobial susceptibility testing for a number of antimicrobial categories/families, the largest proportion of isolates showing resistance to a median of five antimicrobial categories was observed in P. aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Burkolderia spp. In contrast, infections caused by Staphylococcus, Streptococcus spp. and Pasteurella multocida were highly sensitive to conventional antimicrobials authorized for veterinary use (categories D and C). The emergence of AMR major nosocomial opportunistic pathogens such as P. aeruginosa, S. maltophilia and K. pneumoniae in pet rabbits can represent a serious public health challenge. Consequently, collaboration between veterinarians and human health professionals is crucial in the fight against antimicrobial resistance, to optimize, rationalize and prudently use antimicrobial therapies in domestic animals and humans.

Keywords: One Health approach; Spain; antimicrobial resistance; pet rabbits; zoonotic risk.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of bacteria genera regarding the sample origin in pet rabbits.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage and number of isolates presenting resistant (red) or susceptible/intermediate (green) results in the AST for (A) the beta-lactams class and (B) other antimicrobial families.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage and number of isolates presenting resistant (red) or susceptible/intermediate (green) results in the AST for (A) the beta-lactams class and (B) other antimicrobial families.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of the different bacterial isolates (%) according to the number of antimicrobial categories showing resistance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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