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Antimicrobial Resistance of Aerobic Respiratory Isolates From Young N ew Z ealand Horses
Author(s) -
ToombsRuane L.J.,
Riley C.B.,
Rosanowski S.M.,
Kendall A.T.,
Benschop J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/evj.12486_45
Subject(s) - ceftiofur , antimicrobial , penicillin , antibiotic resistance , trimethoprim , antibiotics , drug resistance , microbiology and biotechnology , gentamicin , population , sulfamethoxazole , veterinary medicine , medicine , biology , aerobic bacteria , bacteria , genetics , environmental health
Reasons for performing study Decreased efficacy of veterinary antimicrobials and increased prevalence of multi‐drug resistance ( MDR ) is of concern, but little is known of antimicrobial resistance encompassing the N ew Z ealand ( NZ ) equine population. Recent concerns have arisen over the emergence of multi‐resistant bacteria [1], especially on NZ stud farms where antibiotics are frequently used for respiratory disease without veterinary input [2]. Objectives To describe bacterial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity results from respiratory samples submitted of young horses (4 weeks to 3 years old). Study design Retrospective study of clinical pathology records. Methods A database search for isolates and sensitivity of respiratory samples from young horses ( A pril 2004– J uly 2014) was conducted. The results of in vitro sensitivity testing by Kirby‐Bauer disk diffusion were tabulated for major bacterial species isolated. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to describe clustering of multi‐drug resistance ( MDR ) and selected demographic variables. Results 237/289 eligible respiratory samples had at least one aerobic bacterial isolate. Most of the 774 bacterial isolates were G ram‐positive (68%). S treptococcus species were the most common genus isolated (40% of isolates). Sensitivity of S treptococcus spp. to penicillin, gentamicin and ceftiofur was >85%, but only 53% to trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxone. Gram‐negative sensitivity to ceftiofur, tetracycline, and trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxone was <75%. MDR was found for 16% of isolates and in 39% of horses. Conclusions Penicillin is an appropriate first‐line antimicrobial for use in most NZ young horses with suspected bacterial respiratory infection. However, based on findings of MDR , submission of samples for culture and monitoring of sensitivity should be used to inform antimicrobial selection. Ethical animal research: Not applicable. Sources of funding: Massey University McGeorge Fund; N ew Z ealand Equine Research Foundation. Competing interests: None declared.