Page 127 - 2021 Barrel Stallion Register
P. 127

                 VETERINARY VIEWS
  Equine patients treated with antimicrobial drugs are more likely to have bacteria with antimicrobial drug resistance among their fecal bacterial flora compared to patients not treated with antimicrobial drugs.
likely to have bacteria with antimicrobial drug resistance among their fecal bacterial flora compared to patients not treated with antimicrobial drugs.
Another review of 5,251 horses on antimi- crobial therapy identified an overall 0.6 % in- cidence of antimicrobial-associated diarrhea. Combination antimicrobial treatments with their broad-spectrum activity are more likely to create greater disruption of intestinal flora leading to an increased incidence of AAD. Twenty-two percent of horses presenting for AAD were positive for an enteropathogen, namely Clostridium difficile or Salmonella. Of these, 19 % died.
THE LONG REACH OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
A report by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- istration (FDA) states: “Overuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals helps drive the evolution of resistant bacteria. Bacteria have a natural tendency to mutate and to acquire genes from other bacteria. These changes enable them to resist antibiotics and flourish in environments where antibiotics are used. As resistance genes move between bacteria, the bacteria themselves spread through soil, water, and wildlife. Over time, with continued antibiotic use, the situ- ation worsens. Scientists are concerned that resistant strains of bacteria could spread globally through travel or trade, including the exchange of foods.”
While we are aware of the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance as a concern to humans and domestic animals, it could be prevalent in wild animals as well. A wildlife biologist, Jurgi Cristobal-Azkarate, looked at the feces
Biosecurity practices are essential to minimize infectious disease entry onto a property. Good hygiene in the horse’s stabling environment along with daily grooming are sensible strategies that not only prevent infections but also enable an owner to identify a problem early on.
 of howler monkeys near Veracruz in the Mexican jungle and found superbugs with antibiotic resistance. Even more alarming
is that an abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria was found also in spider monkeys, tapirs, jaguars, a puma, a dwarf leopard, and jaguarundis. Many of these animals live far from humans, which adds to the concern.
The presence of superbugs in wildlife is not new – there have been reports of it occur-
ring in rodents in the UK and iguanas in the Galapagos. The Mexican report notes that most antibiotics come from bacteria and fungi, to which bacteria have been exposed for millions of years. Yet, in Cristóbal-Azkarate’s study, some isolated bacteria were resistant to relatively new, synthetic antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones, suggesting that resistance had spread from human-populated areas.
There is no clear information on how these antibiotic-resistant bacteria made their way into wildlife a distance from human populations. The study suggests that ter- restrial species were more exposed than the arboreal (monkey) species to antibiotics from human origin and/or bacteria from humans and livestock. In addition, wildlife may come into contact with human or domestic animal waste through hunting and foraging in areas near humans or livestock. It is also possible that wildlife contact waste carried by water, migratory birds or bats.
The biggest worry is that superbugs could further mutate with even greater resistance to currently available pharmaceuticals. This poses a challenging threat to treatment if these microbes find their way into human and/or domestic animal populations.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Historically, people have believed that giving an antibiotic might help and won’t do harm. The more we know about antimicrobial drug treat- ment, the more prevalent the potential for ad- verse outcomes from their use, not just in disease in the treated horse but also from drug resistance. In deciding what is best for a horse in need of treatment, it’s important to consider the potential for harm along with the potential for benefit from antimicrobial drug treatment. This means relying on your professional veterinarian to evalu- ate the problem and determine a safe course of action in the event of injury or illness.
An abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria was found in spider monkeys, tapirs, jaguars, a puma, a dwarf leopard, and jaguarundis. Many of these animals live far from humans, which adds to the concern and suggests that resistance has spread from human-populated areas.
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