title: European multicenter study on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from companion animal urinary tract infections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a growing concern regarding the increase of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in companion animals. Yet, there are no studies comparing the resistance levels of these organisms in European countries. The aim of this study was to investigate geographical and temporal trends of antimicrobial resistant bacteria causing urinary tract infection (UTI) in companion animals in Europe. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 22 256 bacteria isolated from dogs and cats with UTI was determined. Samples were collected between 2008 and 2013 from 16 laboratories of 14 European countries. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of the most common bacteria was determined for each country individually in the years 2012-2013 and temporal trends of bacteria resistance were established by logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The aetiology of uropathogenic bacteria differed between dogs and cats. For all bacterial species, Southern countries generally presented higher levels of antimicrobial resistance compared to Northern countries. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli were found to be more prevalent in Southern countries. During the study period, the level of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli isolated in Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands decreased significantly. A temporal increase in resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate and gentamicin was observed among E. coli isolates from the Netherlands and Switzerland, respectively. Other country-specific temporal increases were observed for fluoroquinolone-resistant Proteus spp. isolated from companion animals from Belgium.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This work brings new insights into the current status of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from companion animals with UTI in Europe and reinforces the need for strategies aiming to reduce resistance.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal (CIISA), Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cátia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal (CIISA), Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís Telo
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Gama
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal (CIISA), Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belas
authors.affiliation: The National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bergström
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Vebiotel, Arcueil, France.
authors.forename: Stéphanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beurlet
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Vebiotel, Arcueil, France.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Briend-Marchal
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Els M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Broens
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, Langford, UK.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: AML-Medvet laboratory, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Criel
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Damborg
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marloes A M
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Astrid M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: van Dongen
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Roswitha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dorsch
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínico Veterinario Complutense, Universidad Complutense, Servicio de Microbiologia y Parasitologia, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen Martin
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Espada
authors.affiliation: Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gerber
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, Companion Animal Clinic, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kritsepi-Konstantinou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Loncaric
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Science, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mion
authors.affiliation: Department of microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Misic
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: Rebeca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Movilla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gudrun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Overesch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Perreten
authors.affiliation: Hospital Clínic Veterinari, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Roura
authors.affiliation: AML-Medvet laboratory, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steenbergen
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool, Cheshire, UK.|Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agronomical Sciences Veterinary Medicine, Lasi, Romania.|Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Dorina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Timofte
authors.affiliation: Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Science, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Renato Giulio
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Disease Biology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.|Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guardabassi
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal (CIISA), Lisboa, Portugal. cpomba@fmv.ulisboa.pt.
authors.forename: Constança
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0504-6820
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pomba
keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Cat; Dog; MRSA; MRSP; Temporal trends