Novel Approaches in Treating Skin Infections in Cats and Dogs: Exploring Antibiotic Resistance and Alternative Therapies

Abstract

The rise of antimicrobial resistance in veterinary medicine has necessitated the urgent exploration of alternative therapeutic strategies for treating skin infections in companion animals. This study employs a mixed-methods design to evaluate the efficacy and clinical viability of novel treatments—bacteriophage therapy, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), nanoparticle-based systems, and CRISPR-Cas technologies—against multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens in cats and dogs. Retrospective clinical data from 512 cases revealed high resistance rates, particularly in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius, with multidrug resistance exceeding 80% in some isolates.Of 120 MDR isolates studied in vitro, 85% were effectively treated by the antibiotics which have minimum inhibitory values of 0.05–0.10 µg/mL.  Even though silver nanoparticles and chitin-nanofiber blends showed minor cytotoxicity, they demonstrated good antibacterial activity.  The highest cure rate was achieved by phage-antibiotic treatment with good swiftness (82% and average heal time of 10 days), compared to the usual antibiotics (65% and many days to heal).  The use of new treatments led to fewer people having the disease again.  Most of the forty veterinary groups said that phage therapy and AMPs seems safe and effective, with safety concerns for CRISpen-Cas and nanotechnology.  All of these results point to including alternative medicines in veterinary dermatology to deal with the rise in antibiotic resistance.  The findings establish a systematic way of using advanced methods for controlling infections in pets, especially the ones that are accepted by veterinarians.  Because of these findings, there will likely be new steps needed in all areas of health care, antimicrobial use and the merging of veterinary and public health.