Abstract:
Although Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) can infect both animals and humans, there is
a paucity of veterinary studies on antimicrobial resistance of P. aeruginosa in South Africa.
Secondary data of canine clinical cases presented at the hospital from January 2007 to
December 2013 was used. The following information was recorded: type of sample, the date
of sampling and the antimicrobial susceptibility results. Frequencies, proportions and their
95% confidence intervals were calculated for all the categorical variables. In total, 155
P. aeruginosa isolates were identified and included in this study. All the isolates were resistant
to at least one antimicrobial (AMR), while 92% were multi-drug resistant (MDR). Most isolates
were resistant to lincomycin (98%), penicillin-G (96%), orbifloxacin (90%), trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole (90%) and doxycycline (87%). A low proportion of isolates was resistant to
imipenem (6%), tobramycin (12%), amikacin (16%) and gentamicin (18%). A high proportion
of MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates was resistant to amoxycillin-clavulanic acid (99%), tylosin (99%),
chloramphenicol (97%) and doxycycline (96%). Few (6%) of MDR-P. aeruginosa isolates were
resistant to imipenem. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was associated with infections of various organ
systems in this study. All P. aeruginosa isolates of P. aeruginosa exhibited resistance to β-lactams,
fluoroquinolones and lincosamides. Clinicians at the hospital in question should consider
these findings when treating infections associated with P. aeruginosa.
