Antimicrobial Resistance in Bacterial Pathogens from Farm Animals

The increase in antimicrobial resistance of bacterial pathogens threatens the health, welfare, and productivity of the food-producing animals. In order to curb the emergence, it is essential to reduce the overall use of antimicrobial agents as it is one of the main drivers in the development of resistance. One key element in reducing the use is to stop the use of antimicrobial agents for growth promotion or routine prophylaxis and instead use antimicrobial agents only for metaphylaxis and therapy of diseased animals. In addition, it is good veterinary medical practice to use narrow spectrum antimicrobial agents whenever possible as they are less prone to drive the development of resistance. Moreover, antimicrobial agents that are critically important for human medicine should be avoided whenever possible. Here, we present resistance data from Germany and Sweden for some major bacterial infections in cattle, pigs, and poultry. Although an antibiogram should be performed prior to the onset of an antimicrobial therapy, especially in herd treatment, this data may assist veterinary practitioners and clinicians to choose the appropriate antimicrobial agent in cases of empirical therapy. However, resistance patterns of defined bacterial pathogens can vary over time and by geographical location or even by herd.