Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance of pathogens of infectious dermatitis in dogs and cats in Ternopil

In recent decades, antimicrobial resistance has become a major global problem affecting many industries, such as medicine and veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, agriculture, the environment, and trade. Pets are considered potential reservoirs for the transmission of antimicrobial resistance to humans due to the extensive use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and their close contact with their owners. The aim of the study was to determine the resistance of the main pathogens of infectious dermatitis in dogs and cats to antimicrobial drugs in Ternopil. The study was conducted at the Veterinary Medicine Clinic of the Ternopil Research Station of the Institute of Veterinary Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine during 2016–2023. Isolation of staphylococci was carried out on Baird-Parker Agar, enterobacteria on Endo agar, streptococci on Streptococcus Selection Agar, fungi on Sabouraud medium. The sensitivity of microorganisms to antibacterial substances was determined by the disk diffusion method. It was established that in Ternopil, in infectious dermatitis of dogs and cats in 2016–2023, the main causative agent was bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus, in particular, S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius. The most resistant staphylococci were to antibiotics of the penicillin and macrolide groups from 54.5 to 100 % of isolated cultures and to the lincosamide group – 66.7–70.4 % of cultures. The number of cultures that showed resistance to the aminoglycoside and tetracycline groups was isolated from the skin of animals 1.6–3.3 times less, and to cephalosporins, nitrofuran derivatives and fluoroquinolones – 2–6.7 times less, compared to the penicillin, macrolide, and lincosamide groups. Therefore, to reduce the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, it is best to combine reasonable measures with the use of veterinary-rational and effective antibiotic use and antibiogram studies. In addition, monitoring the dynamics of pathogens and detecting changes in antibiotic resistance are important for the treatment of chronic bacterial skin infections in pets.