09/11/2024
LIVING IN THE AGE OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE🧫💊
There are plenty of things in this world to be concerned about, but something that has vets (and human doctors) particularly concerned these days is worsening resistance to antibiotics. So what does this mean, and what can you do as an owner to help prevent this?🤔
Antibiotics are medications that are prescribed to treat BACTERIAL infections. There are different classes of antibiotics, that work in different ways to either kill the bacteria or stop the bacteria from multiplying. Decades of research has gone into establishing effective doses in numerous species, and which antibiotics work best against which bacteria. Unfortunately, bacteria are smart little things...
Bacteria are single celled organisms that are literally everywhere. Their replication and functioning is determined by DNA, just like us. They are exceptionally good at mutating their DNA, and even exchanging it with other bacteria in certain cases. This is how they are able to develop resistance to medications so effectively. Bacteria are constantly replicating and mutating, developing better ways to survive. Everytime a bacterium comes into contact with an antibiotic, it could potentially develop resistance to that drug.
So what can YOU do to help prevent this from happening? We all have a responsibility to ourselves, our beloved pets and future generations to use antibiotics responsibly. If we do this, we can hopefully preserve the efficacy of these vital medications. Here are some guidelines for using antibiotics responsibly:
1. TAKE OR GIVE ANTIBIOTICS AS PRESCRIBED. One of the biggest causes of antibiotic resistance, is patients - or their owners - terminating an antibiotic course early because they or their animal feel better, or perhaps because giving the medication was too stressful. Just because clinical signs are gone, doesn't mean the infection is! And if only 95% of the bacteria are eradicated, the chances are high that those 5% are going to come back bigger and nastier than before🫣
2. DON'T GIVE OR TAKE ANTIBIOTICS UNLESS PRESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR. We cringe everytime an owner tells us that they gave their pet antibiotics that were left over from a post-op course in 2018, or that the breeder recommended this drug for that condition and they have a contact at a pharmacy... Please don't ever do this!😫 not only are you contributing to antibiotic resistance, but you could potentially do more harm than good if there is an allergic reaction, or a negative interaction with another medication, or you accidentally overdose your pet. If you have any leftover medication for whatever reason, please speak to your vet first before giving it to your pet🙏
3. FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR VET AS REQUESTED. We often ask owners to come back for a follow up once a course of medication is completed. This is because we need to make 110% sure that the infection is truly gone. Sometimes, especially in today's day and age, we need to extend or modify treatment courses depending on how a patient is doing. This is done specifically to ensure that we don't end up leaving behind some resistant bugs lurking somewhere. Please keep to your follow up appointments, especially if your pet is not 100% better. It will ultimately mean less time spent at the vet in the long run😜
If we all follow these basic rules, we will be doing our part to preserve the efficacy of our limited pool of antibiotics🙏 and then hopefully we won't be seeing so many multidrug resistant infections🧫
The attached culture reports are from a range of patients seen at our clinic this year alone. Every R stands for resistant, and it is frightening to see so many of them💔
