Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Isolated From Dogs Presented with Otitis Externa in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

This investigation documents antibiotic resistant bacteria observed in dogs with otitis externa encountered at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Four Alsatian dogs were presented to the Veterinary Clinic after over a year of treatment failures following a prolonged misuse of antibiotics. Bacteriological examination of swab samples from the affected ears was done using standard methods, followed by in-vitro antibiotic sensitivity test by agar gel diffusion methods using the Oxoid® antibiotic discs of the commonly used antibiotics in Nigeria. Five bacteria namely, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas diminuta and Proteus miriabilis that were multi-drug resistant to between six and eleven different combinations of aminoglycosides, flouoroquinolones and cephalosporins group of drugs; commonly used in human and veterinary professions in Nigeria were isolated. The occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria in companion animals indicates a public health risk in terms of possibility of human contact with such pathogenic bacteria. The treatment failures for over a period of one year show the economic losses, in terms of cost of drugs and veterinary fees, as a consequence of antibiotic misuse. Antimicrobial resistance directly reflects the misuse of various antimicrobial agents, hence there is an urgent need for the public education and control of misuse of antimicrobial agents in Nigeria. The importance of bacterial antibiogram coupled with judicious use of antibiotics cannot be overemphasized in human and veterinary medicine.

Keywords: Bacteria, Otitis externa, Dog, Antibiotic-resistance.