Bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of canine pyometra in Central India

Background: Female dogs that are not spayed are at risk of developing a life-threatening canine pyometra, which is a severe uterine infection caused by bacterial overgrowth due to high levels of progesterone. This condition requires immediate veterinary care for a better prognosis and recovery. In Bhopal, Central India, the crucial information on the regional antimicrobial resistance patterns of the main bacterial causatives remains underreported. Objectives: To determine the bacteriological profile and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of canine pyometra cases presented in Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Methods: Thirty-one bitches clinically diagnosed with pyometra were sampled between July and September 2023. Vaginal swabs were subjected to culture and identification using standard microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) was performed by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method following CLSI (2021) guidelines. Results: Of 31 samples, 29 (93.54%) were culture-positive, yielding 45 isolates. Gram-negative bacteria (57.77%) predominated over Gram-positive bacteria (42.22%). The most common isolates were Escherichia coli (28.88%), Streptococcus pyogenes (24.44%), Staphylococcus aureus (15.55%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (13.33%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (13.33%). Piperacillin/Tazobactam (87.61%), Ceftriaxone (84.55%), and Gentamicin (82.33%) showed highest overall sensitivity. Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid exhibited the highest resistance (58.05%). Conclusions: E. coli remains the predominant pathogen in canine pyometra in central India. Increasing resistance to commonly used beta-lactam antibiotics highlights the need for routine AST-guided therapy and antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary practice.