Conjunctival microbiota susceptibility to antibacterials in dogs

Abstract

Eye diseases are common in humans and animals. The supply of medications is vast, however, only in human medicine. In veterinary medicine, due to the lack of other options, medications designed for human use are the treatments of choice. While some of them are really effective, they can irritate the eye. In such cases, a human patient waits until the irritation fades, whereas an animal immediately starts scratching and rubbing the eye, thus aggravating the inflammation and sometimes spreading it to surrounding tissues [1]. The aim of this study was to identify the conjunctival microbiota in dogs with conjunctivitis and to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated strains. The research was performed in the Dr. L. Kriaučeliūnas Small Animal Clinic (LUHS VA). The samples were tested in the microbiology laboratory of Microbiology and Virology Institute, LUHS VA. Dogs (n=31) with symptoms of conjunctivitis were selected for primary ophthalmological assessment and research. Samples for bacterial testing were collected from the conjunctival sac. Susceptibility to antibiotics was tested by the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The identified bacteria belonged to the families Staphylococcaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae and Bacillaceae. Amoxicillin and cefalexin showed the greatest efficacy against the Staphylococcaceae family bacteria (91.2%), and the least susceptibility was established to amoxicillin/clavulanate (67.6%). Amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid compound showed the greatest efficacy against the Corynebacteriaceae family isolates (100%), and the least susceptibility was established to clindamycin (33.3%). Amoxicillin, tetracycline, amoxicillin/clavulanate, enrofloxacin, gentamicin, and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim showed the greatest efficacy against the Enterobacterales isolates (100%), and the least susceptibility was established to cephalexin and cefoxitin (83...[...].