Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) is a group of bacteria with resistance to powerful carbapenem antibiotics such as meropenem. They’re also usually resistant to various other antibiotics, which makes them a big concern because treatment options are very limited, and unfortunately the rate of CPE infections in people is increasing rapidly. To treat them, physicians typically need
Raw Pet Food & Pathogens: UK Surveillance
I haven’t written about raw diets lately (beyond risks from H5N1 influenza, particularly in cats), but that doesn’t mean the risks from these diets have gone away, and they are still really popular in some areas, and some messages are worth repeating.
Potential problems with raw diets for dogs and cats include infections (e.g. Salmonella
Antimicrobial Use in Animals: When More Might Be Better
That headline might get some people worked up, but hopefully they’ll read the whole post before firing off an angry email.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge problem in humans and animals, which means we need to improve or optimize how we use antimicrobials, but this is not synonymous with reducing use. Most of the
Need to Review More Breakpoints For Antibiotics in Cats
Change is tough. Repeated changes are even tougher, especially when it takes a lot of time and effort for each one to be understood and implemented. But change is also good – and important – when it improves how we do things.
In 2024, the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) changed some important breakpoints
Antibiotics and Planetary Health
I’m on my way back from Copenhagen where we had a very productive meeting to update the ISCAID pyelonephritis antimicrobial treatment guidelines for dogs and cats. As the process for developing guidelines like these has matured, it’s no longer about simply getting some very smart people in a room and agreeing on recommendations; it’s now
Antibiotics For Pyometra Surgery in Dogs
It’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week. Did you know that? Probably not. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge global health threat with an unfortunately crappy marketing plan.
I’m on my way back from the BC One Health and Zoonoses Symposium where I was talking about AMR. It’s a complex issue and there are a
Antiviral Resistance in Cats, Part 2: GS-441524
Last week, I wrote about the use of oseltamivir in dogs and cats infected with H5N1 influenza. We have to be aware of the risk of drug resistance risks whenever we use anti-infectives, especially when the same drugs (like osteltamivir) are used in people, and assess the risks and benefits in order to “
Reminder: Canine Culture Interpretation Changes and Guidance
Over a year ago, I wrote a few posts about changes to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) veterinary antimicrobial susceptibility testing guidelines. When a bacterium is grown in a lab and tested for susceptibility to different drugs, the lab looks to these CLSI guidelines to determine whether they should consider the bug susceptible
Antiviral Resistance in Cats, Part 1: FIP Drugs
We don’t talk a lot about antiviral resistance in animals, particularly compared to antibacterial resistance, primarily because we don’t use antivirals a lot in animals – but we do use some.
When we use any anti-infective medication, we have to think about the risks of resistance developing to that medication, and how we can try
Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Animals: A Primer
If I asked 100 random people on the street “should we be giving antibiotics to healthy animals?” I’m pretty sure most or all of them would say “no.“
That makes sense in a lot of ways. We should save antimicrobials to treat sick individuals (especially people), and we shouldn’t use antimicrobials in