Abstract

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Dogs are domestic animals as well as human pets with potential zoonotic respiratory infections. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from a total of fifty-five (55) dogs at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria. Ten (10) breeds were examined for probable bacteria responsible for upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and antibiotic resistance among the isolates. The isolates per breed with age as a factor, were microbiological screened, while antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was performed by Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method with their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). The URTI was highest (49.0%) for dogs younger than 12 months, while the least percentage of 5.5% was recorded for dogs between ages 6 and 10 years. The decreasing order of URTI rate based on breed was; Alsatian (43.6%)>Boerboel (20.0%)>Italian mastiff>Terrier cross (1.8%). The frequency of occurrence of ten identified bacterial species were Escherichia coli (83.1%), Citrobacter freundii (73.4%), Staphylococcus aureus (67.5%), Klebsiella oxytoca (65.2%), Bacillus subtilis (57.6%), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (40%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (38.2%), Streptococcus spp. (18.2%), Proteus mirabilis (14.5%) and Haemophilus spp. (5.8%). All the isolates expressed significant differences (P<0.05) across all the parameters tested and were also 100% resistant to at least one of the antibiotics tested. Percentage susceptibility rate (%) to nitrofurantoin (100), ciprofloxacin and amoxycillin (90.0), ceftriaxone (10.0), while augmentin was completely resisted by all the isolates (0%). The study revealed that most pet-dogs in the sampled area were potential carriers of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. More public awareness aimed at curtailing the spread of these pathogenic agents is highly recommended.

Keywords: Bacterial infection, breeds of dog, human pets, upper respiratory tract