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Antibiotic-resistant bacteria that have infected more than 100 people and have been associated with pet puppies appear to have spread at least in part because healthy dogs have received antibiotics.
"It's shocking," said Lance Price, director of the Antibiotic Resistance Action Center at George Washington University. "This is an important study that highlights something we need to spend more time on."
According to a new study released on Thursday, more than half of the treated dogs who became ill during the outbreak received the drugs not because they were sick, but to prevent them from becoming ill. The technique, called prophylaxis, has been widely used in the production of food animals and is accused of fueling antibiotic resistance.
"We just need to change the way we think about antibiotics," said Matthew Wellington, director of the US PIRG's antibiotic program, the public interest research group.
The outbreak of the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, responsible for diarrheal diseases, began in early 2016 and continued until February of this year. People from 18 states fell ill, including 29 employees in pet shops. The survey, which began in August 2017, found that puppies were at the root of the problem.
Thursday's study was published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It revealed the number of antibiotics administered to dogs, as well as the results of tests performed on bacterial samples – known as isolates – from 10 sick people and eight puppies to determine which drugs could kill bacteria.
The authors reported that "hatch isolates were resistant to antibiotic susceptibility testing to all antibiotics commonly used to treat Campylobacter infections."
"This outbreak demonstrates that puppies can be a source of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans, which warrants further study of the use of antimicrobials in the commercial dog industry."
The study showed that the outbreak involved six chains of pet stores, but the problem is probably wider. Officials from four states visited 20 pet stores and collected records on the administration of antibiotics for approximately 150 puppies. Of these, 95% had received at least one set of medications before arriving at the store or store. Sixteen different types of antibiotics were used. And about half of the dogs treated were not sick – they were given the drugs to prevent the disease.
"Antibiotics should only be used to treat diseases, not to compensate for bad practices – whether it's carrying dogs over long distances and having poor hygiene along the way …" said Wellington. "These are medicines that save lives that should only be used to treat sick animals or sick people."
Wellington and Price have both strongly criticized the misuse of antibiotics in the production of food animals. But the use of drugs in the commercial dog industry was not on their radar.
Price was surprised by the report. "For me, this indicates that they have to raise these animals differently. They are creating this terrible distribution system for multidrug-resistant bacteria, "he said.
Republished with permission of STAT. This article was published on September 20, 2018
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