Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from canine specimens submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in South Africa

Vet World Vol.18 June-2025 Article - 3

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(6): 1421-1432

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.1421-1432

Themba Titus Sigudu^1,2

, James W. Oguttu¹

, and Daniel N. Qekwana³

1. Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.

2. Division of Health and Society, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

3. Section Veterinary Public Health, Department of Paraclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.

Background and Aim: The rising burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in veterinary medicine poses significant threats to animal and public health. In South Africa, inadequate surveillance exacerbates the challenge, particularly regarding Staphylococcus spp. infections in companion animals. This study aimed to investigate the patterns and predictors of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) in Staphylococcus isolated from dogs between 2012 and 2017.

Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 1627 Staphylococcus isolates. Data regarding animal demographics and antimicrobial susceptibility were extracted, cleaned, and analyzed. Intermediate susceptibility results were classified as resistant. AMR was defined as resistance to at least one antimicrobial class and MDR as resistance to three or more classes. Descriptive statistics, Cochran–Armitage trend analysis, and binary logistic regression models were employed to assess trends and predictors of AMR and MDR.

Results: Overall, 61.2% of isolates exhibited resistance to at least one antimicrobial, and 39.0% were classified as MDR. The highest resistance was observed against penicillins (39.64%), followed by aminoglycosides (22.31%). Significant predictors of AMR included Staphylococcus species, specimen type, and year of isolation, while MDR was significantly associated with specimen type and the age of the dog. Notably, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius showed a markedly higher likelihood of resistance (adjusted odds ratio = 2.23, p < 0.001) compared to other species. Temporal trends indicated a decrease in AMR but an increase in MDR across the study period.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of AMR and MDR among canine Staphylococcus isolates, particularly in skin infections and among younger dogs, underscores the urgent need to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship, enhance surveillance systems, and target interventions in veterinary practice. These findings serve as critical baseline data for future assessments of AMR trends and can be used to inform strategies to mitigate the dissemination of resistant pathogens between animals and humans.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, canine infections, multidrug resistance, South Africa, Staphylococcus, veterinary surveillance.

How to cite this article: Sigudu TT, Oguttu JW, and Qekwana DN (2025) Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from canine specimens submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory in South Africa, Veterinary World, 18(6): 1421-1432.

Received: 12-09-2024 Accepted: 28-04-2025 Published online: 06-06-2025

Corresponding author: Themba Titus Sigudu E-mail: thembas6@gmail.com

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.1421-1432

Copyright: Sigudu, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.