Suwanpakdee Sarin, Chantong Boonrat, Wiratsudakul Anuwat, Tangcharoensathien Viroj, Lekagul Angkana, Sakcamduang Walasinee
Department of Clinical Sciences and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
The Monitoring and Surveillance Center for Zoonotic Diseases in Wildlife and Exotic Animals (MoZWE), Faculty of Veterinary Science, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 22;20(8):e0330750. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330750. eCollection 2025.
The high volume of antibiotics used for companion animals, off-label use of human-registered antibiotics for veterinary purposes, and close human-animal interactions raises policy concerns related to antimicrobial resistance in companion animals. This study aimed to assess the volume and type of antibiotic usage in companion animals at veterinary teaching hospitals in Thailand. In 2018, we obtained a dataset of visits that occurred between 2015 and 2017 from eight selected veterinary teaching hospitals with a high caseload of companion animals. In total, we included 938,522 dogs and 242,342 cats in our study. Total antibiotic consumption was estimated, and antibiotic usage was standardized by calculating the amount of antibiotic consumed by weight per year (mg/kg/year). The top five antibiotics used include amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, enrofloxacin, cephalexin, doxycycline, and metronidazole, all of which are commonly used to treat bacterial and parasitic infections. Critically important antimicrobials for human medicine, such as amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and enrofloxacin, were among the most used. From 2015 to 2017, total antibiotic usage (kg) markedly decreased (i.e., by 57.0%), with a particularly notable reduction of 78.2% observed for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Moreover, veterinarians' overall prescriptions of antibiotics registered for human use decreased by 16% over the same period. However, there was a notable increase in the use of injectable antibiotics registered for human use relative to oral forms. Furthermore, we observed a relatively high usage of third-generation cephalosporins, which may contribute to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in companion animals. This study emphasizes the need to educate veterinarians and veterinary students on the rational use of antibiotics and highlights the importance of regular monitoring and surveillance of antibiotic use in companion animals.
用于伴侣动物的抗生素使用量巨大、将人类注册的抗生素用于非标签兽医用途以及人与动物的密切互动引发了与伴侣动物抗菌药物耐药性相关的政策问题。本研究旨在评估泰国兽医教学医院中伴侣动物抗生素的使用量和类型。2018年，我们从八家选定的伴侣动物病例量大的兽医教学医院获取了2015年至2017年间就诊的数据集。我们的研究总共纳入了938,522只狗和242,342只猫。估计了抗生素的总消耗量，并通过计算每年每千克体重消耗的抗生素量（毫克/千克/年）来标准化抗生素使用情况。使用量排名前五的抗生素包括阿莫西林-克拉维酸、恩诺沙星、头孢氨苄、强力霉素和甲硝唑，所有这些抗生素都常用于治疗细菌和寄生虫感染。对人类医学至关重要的抗菌药物，如阿莫西林-克拉维酸和恩诺沙星，是使用最频繁的药物之一。从2015年到2017年，抗生素总使用量（千克）显著下降（即下降了57.0%），其中阿莫西林-克拉维酸的降幅尤为显著，达到78.2%。此外，兽医开具的人类注册抗生素总体处方量在同一时期下降了16%。然而，相对于口服剂型，人类注册的注射用抗生素使用量显著增加。此外，我们观察到第三代头孢菌素的使用量相对较高，这可能会导致伴侣动物出现抗菌药物耐药性。本研究强调了对兽医和兽医学生进行抗生素合理使用教育的必要性，并突出了对伴侣动物抗生素使用进行定期监测和监督的重要性。
