Pomba C1,
Rantala M2,
Greko C3,
Baptiste KE4,
Catry B5,
van Duijkeren E6,
Mateus A7,
Moreno MA8,
Pyörälä S2,
Ružauskas M9,
Sanders P10,
Teale C11,
Threlfall EJ12,
Kunsagi Z13,
Torren-Edo J13,14,
Jukes H15,
Törneke K16.
- 1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal cpomba@fmv.ulisboa.pt.
- 2Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
- 3National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden.
- 4Danish Health and Medicines Authority, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 5Scientific Institute of Public Health, Brussels, Belgium.
- 6National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
- 7Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK.
- 8Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain.
- 9Veterinary Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania.
- 10Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire (ANSES), Fougères, France.
- 11Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, UK.
- 12Health Protection Agency, London, UK.
- 13European Medicines Agency, London, UK.
- 14Facultat de Veterinària, UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
- 15Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Addlestone, UK.
- 16Läkemedelsverket, Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract
Antimicrobials
are important tools for the therapy of infectious bacterial diseases in
companion animals. Loss of efficacy of antimicrobial substances can
seriously compromise animal health and welfare. A need for the
development of new antimicrobials for the therapy of multiresistant
infections, particularly those caused by Gram-negative bacteria, has
been acknowledged in human medicine and a future corresponding need in
veterinary medicine is expected. A unique aspect related to
antimicrobial resistance and risk of resistance transfer in companion
animals is their close contact with humans. This creates opportunities
for interspecies transmission of resistant bacteria. Yet, the current
knowledge of this field is limited and no risk assessment is performed
when approving new veterinary antimicrobials. The objective of this
review is to summarize the current knowledge on the use and indications
for antimicrobials in companion animals, drug-resistant bacteria of
concern among companion animals, risk factors for colonization of
companion animals with resistant bacteria and transmission of
antimicrobial resistance (bacteria and/or resistance determinants)
between animals and humans. The major antimicrobial resistance
microbiological hazards originating from companion animals that directly
or indirectly may cause adverse health effects in humans are MRSA,
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, VRE, ESBL- or
carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae and Gram-negative bacteria.
In the face of the previously recognized microbiological hazards, a risk
assessment tool could be applied in applications for marketing
authorization for medicinal products for companion animals. This would
allow the approval of new veterinary medicinal antimicrobials for which
risk levels are estimated as acceptable for public health.
©
The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the
British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For
Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
