Determination of antibiotic susceptibility in isolates from dogs and cats

Microorganisms are able to rapidly acquire antibiotic resistance through mutation, memory gene transfer and epigenetic changes. Various factors contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in healthcare, agriculture/livestock, and the environment due to their irrational and excessive use. These resistant microorganisms (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus spp.) and their genes get into the soil, air, water, agricultural waste, and wastewater treatment plants and spread in the environment. Zoonotic pathogens are particularly dangerous. Scientists and healthcare practitioners are developing global strategies, which primarily include improving the identification and monitoring of the spread of resistant pathogens. The aim of our research was to determine the sensitivity of microorganisms isolated from companion animals to antibacterial drugs. For the microbiological study, biological material was collected from different infectious processes. We found resistance to various antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus isolates. In particular, the most resistant isolates were to ceftriaxone (7.14 %), cefazolin (5.36 %) and ampicillin (5.36 %). In the study of Staphylococcus aureus isolates, the highest resistance was found to erythromycin, lincomycin, which was significantly higher (p<0.001) compared to the obtained resistance rates to tetracycline and ceftriaxone. And in the isolated isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis, resistance to gentamicin, erythromycin, lincomycin, cephatoxin, ampicillin was detected, which was significantly (p<0.001) higher compared to the resistance data obtained for tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone. The most resistant E. coli isolates were to lincomycin (10.34 %), ceftriaxone (10.34 %), tetracycline (8.62 %) and norfloxacin (8.62 %). Keywords: antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, spread, microorganisms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus spp