Multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in veterinary practice: current challenges

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance in companion animals is of growing importance within the One Health approach due to close contact between humans and domestic animals and the risk of circulation of multidrug-resistant pathogens in households and veterinary clinics. The aim of the study was to evaluate the structure of clinically significant isolates of the Enterobacteriaceae family and the proportion of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains in dogs and cats with clinical signs of bacterial infections in veterinary clinics in Kyiv in 2022–2025.
Wound material was collected with sterile swabs from the depth/area of active inflammation and placed in Amies transport medium (AMIES). Samples (n=63: feces -17 (27.0%) and swabs from purulent-inflammatory wounds - 46 (73.0%)) were transported at +2...+8 °C. Cultivation was performed on MacConkey agar and Endo medium with incubation at 35–37 °C for 18–24 hours; identification was performed using standard biochemical tests. Sensitivity to antimicrobial drugs was determined using the Kirby–Bauer method on Mueller–Hinton agar with interpretation according to EUCAST; ESBL was detected using the DDST method. MDR was defined as insensitivity to at least one drug in three or more classes. The data were summarized descriptively (n, %).
The study was conducted as a single-moment observational study. Of the 63 clinical samples selected, the dominant isolate was Escherichia coli - 44/63 (69.8%), while Klebsiella spp. accounted for 19/63 (30.2%). MDR was detected in 15/63 isolates (23.8%), i.e., almost every fourth isolate was characterized by multidrug resistance. The detection of Klebsiella spp. as the second most frequent group is also clinically significant, since representatives of this genus are often associated with clinically associated infections and are capable of accumulating resistance factors, which complicates treatment.
In veterinary clinics in Kyiv in 2023–2025, E. coli predominated among clinical isolates of Enterobacteriaceae, and the proportion of MDR was 23.8%. The recorded proportion of MDR indicates an increased risk of ineffective empirical antibiotic therapy and justifies the need for wider use of bacteriological testing and susceptibility testing for clinically significant cases, particularly in purulent-inflammatory lesions of the skin and soft tissues. The results confirm the need for regular local microbiological monitoring, enhanced infection control, and rational use of antimicrobial drugs in the treatment of companion animals.