CURRENT CHALLENGES OF VETERINARY MICROBIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS CONCERNING THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF STAPHYLOCOCCI TO ANTIBIOTICS

Staphylococci belong to bacteria often isolated from clinical material obtained from animals. Unlike in human medicine, in veterinary, different species of coagulase-positive staphylococci are isolated from clinical specimens, and except Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, and other species are also often recognized. Recently, the taxonomy of staphylococci has been updated, therefore, now it is necessary to recognize the new species as well. Currently, coagulase-negative staphylococci are considered an important group of opportunistic pathogens. The accurate identification of species within the genus Staphylococcus is important because, according to the EUCAST and CLSI recommendations, the interpretation of the results of susceptibility testing for S. aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci is different. Furthermore, the resistance to methicillin in S. aureus strains is detected using a cefoxitin disk, whereas in the case of S. pseudintermedius– using an oxacillin disk. An important problem for veterinary microbiological laboratories is a limited number of unified guidelines on methodology and guidelines specifying the interpretation of the results of antibiotic susceptibility testing. The lack of available recommendations for some antibiotics testing results in the fact that veterinary laboratories often use the guidelines established for human pathogens. There is an urgent necessity for harmonization of methods and to develop guidelines for the interpretation of results of susceptibility testing for different bacteria, including various species of staphylococci from the individual animal host.

1. Introduction. 2. Problems with the identification of staphylococci isolated from animals. 3. Determination of susceptibility of staphylococci – traditional methods. 4. Alternative methods for determining the susceptibility of staphylococci. 5. Detection of staphylococcal resistance to methicillin. 6. Interpretation of the results of the susceptibility testing of veterinary pathogens. 7. Prevention of the antimicrobial resistance. 8. Summary