Evolution of the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance to <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. Isolated from Horses in Florida over a 10-Year Period

Abstract

Previous studies documented antibiotic resistance in horses but did not focus on skin specifically. We investigated antibiotic resistance and correlations between resistance patterns in skin infections. Records from 2009 to 2019 were searched for Staphylococcal infection and susceptibility results. Seventy-seven cases were included. Organisms identified were S. aureus (48/77), S. pseudintermedius (7/77), non-hemolytic Staphylococcus (8/77), beta-hemolytic Staphylococcus (6/77), and other species (8/77). Samples included pyoderma (36/77), wounds (10/77), abscesses (15/77), incision sites (5/77), nose (8/77), and foot (3/77). A trend analysis using non-parametric Spearman’s test showed significant upward trend of resistance (p Staphylococcal species for 8/15 antibiotics. Gentamicin showed significant susceptibility differences based on source (all abscesses were susceptible to gentamicin). Steel-Dwass test showed statistically significant (p = 0.003) difference between incision sites and abscesses. A non-parametric Kendall’s T-test found significantly negative correlation between cefazolin and amikacin sensitivity (p = 0.0108) and multiple positive correlations of resistance (p Staphylococcus species may affect it. Study limitations include lack of information about previous antibiotic use and small sample size.

Keywords

• antibiotic resistance
• equine
• pyoderma
• <i>Staphylococcus</i>