ABSTRACT
Urinary tract infections are a common diagnosis in dogs presenting to veterinary practice. Veterinarians often treat suspected infections empirically, either in the absence of culture and susceptibility testing results or whilst waiting for them. This study aimed to identify the bacteria most frequently isolated from canine urinary samples and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in South East Queensland (SEQ) to help guide responsible empirical antimicrobial prescription by the veterinary community in this geographical location. Cumulative antibiograms were generated from the results of 1284 culture-positive urinary samples in SEQ, obtained from a commercial veterinary laboratory over a 5-year period. Escherichia coli was the most commonly isolated bacterial species (43%), followed by Staphylococcus spp. (23%), Proteus spp. (21%) and Enterococcus spp. (10%). Of the six most common isolates, 97% had susceptibility to at least one low-importance antimicrobial. Susceptibility to the low-importance and first-line antimicrobial recommendation, amoxicillin, was 81% for E. coli and 24% for Staphylococcus spp. Susceptibility of both E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. to medium-importance and commonly recommended empirical antimicrobials, trimethoprim sulphonamides and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was ≥85% and >92% for high-importance antimicrobials enrofloxacin and ceftiofur. Of the E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. isolates, 8.8% and 4%, respectively, were considered multidrug resistant. There was no increase in resistance to antimicrobials detected over the study period. Susceptibilities suggest low- and medium-importance antimicrobials remain acceptable first-line empirical treatments. However, this should be continually assessed and updated using local surveillance data.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents , Bacteria, Aerobic , Dog Diseases , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Urinary Tract Infections , Animals , Dogs , Queensland/epidemiology , Dog Diseases/microbiology , Dog Diseases/urine , Dog Diseases/drug therapy , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Microbial Sensitivity Tests/veterinary , Urinary Tract Infections/veterinary , Urinary Tract Infections/microbiology , Urinary Tract Infections/drug therapy , Urinary Tract Infections/urine , Bacteria, Aerobic/drug effects , Bacteria, Aerobic/isolation & purification , Drug Resistance, BacterialABSTRACT
Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii transmitted from animals including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep and goats. The infection in cattle is typically sub-clinical with some evidence suggesting associated reproductive loss. There is currently limited data on the true prevalence and distribution of coxiellosis in beef cattle across northern Australia. During this study, 2,012 sera samples from beef cattle managed on commercial farms located in Queensland and the Northern Territory were tested using an indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) for serological evidence of IgG antibodies against C. burnetii. Bayesian latent class models were used to estimate the true prevalence, adjusted for diagnostic test sensitivity and specificity and incorporating the hierarchical structure of the cattle within farms and regions. In this study, cattle in the Northern Territory had lower estimated true prevalence than cattle within most regions of Queensland with the exception of south-east Queensland. Results from this study have described the geographic distribution and estimated the true prevalence of antibodies to C. burnetii in a sample of extensively managed beef cattle located across the tropical grazing regions of northern Australia.