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Sweden has a long tradition of monitoring occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in both animals and humans, but there currently is no organised and harmonized monitoring on carriage of Enterobacteriaceae producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), plasmid-mediated AmpC beta-lactamase (pAmpC), or methicillin-resistant coagulase positive staphylococci e.g. methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) in dogs. The aim of the current study was therefore to determine the prevalence of ESBL/pAmpC producing Enterobacteriaceae and methicillin-resistant coagulase positive staphylococci in healthy dogs in Sweden, and to phenotypically and genotypically characterize any identified isolates. It was shown that 0.9% (95% confident interval 0.3–2.7%) of the dogs (n = 325) carried multi-resistant ESBL-producing Escherichia coli, but that no methicillin-resistant coagulase positive staphylococci could be detected. In conclusion, the occurrence of multi-drug resistant bacteria remains rare among healthy dogs in Sweden. In addition, the ESBL-producing E. coli identified showed genetic characteristics related to those reported from humans.

Our objective was to evaluate the association between grading of hip status as assessed by radiographic examination (hip screening) and subsequent incidence of veterinary care and mortality related to hip dysplasia (HD) in five breeds of insured dogs in Sweden. Screening results for hip status from the Swedish Kennel Club and data on veterinary care and mortality from the insurance company Agria were merged based on the registration number of the dog. Dogs of five breeds (Bernese Mountain Dogs, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Rottweilers) screened during 1995-2004 and covered by an insurance plan for veterinary care or life at the time of screening were included. The study populations included between 1667 and 10,663 dogs per breed. Breed-specific multivariable Cox proportional-hazards analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of radiographic hip status on time from hip screening to first HD-related veterinary and life claim, respectively. The effects of gender, birth season, and a time-varying covariate of year were also studied. Additional analyses, on the five breeds combined, were performed to investigate the effects of hip status, breed, and the interaction between hip status and breed. The effect of hip status was highly significant (P

A clinical study was performed in 21 dogs to evaluate the efficacy of selamectin for the treatment of naturally acquired infection of sucking lice (Linognathus setosus [L.setosus]) in dogs. Each dog was randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. One group was treated with selamectin applied topically at a mean dosage of 7.9 mg/kg. The other group was treated with permethrin applied topically at a mean dosage of 85.7 mg/kg. At day 42 posttreatment, all animals remaining in the study (10 treated with selamectin and six with permethrin) were clear of lice. In both groups, the reduction in lice counts from pretreatment values to day 42 was statistically significant at P≤0.0001. Selamectin applied topically appeared to be effective against L. setosus infection in dogs.

In a laboratory study to evaluate the efficacy of selamectin for treatment of canine nasal mite infection, 12 purpose-bred beagles were experimentally infected with Pneumonyssoides caninum (P. caninum). Six of the dogs were treated with selamectin applied to the skin of the back at dosages of 6 to 24 mg/kg for three times at 2-week intervals. The remaining six dogs were an untreated control group. At necropsy 39 to 46 days after inoculation, no P. caninum mites were found in any of the treated dogs. In contrast, nasal mites were found in five of the untreated dogs. This difference was statistically significant at P=0.015.

A prospective study of 474 dogs, 145 cats, and 66 wild red foxes submitted for necropsy to the Departments of Pathology at the National Veterinary Institute and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden, was conducted to examine for the presence of Pneumonyssoides caninum, the canine nasal mite. Pneumonyssoides caninum (P. caninum) was found in 95 (20%) of the dogs but in none of the cats or foxes. The median number of P. caninum mites per infected dog was 13 (range, 1 to 250). Dogs older than 3 years of age were more often infected with P. caninum than younger dogs, and large-breed dogs were more often infected than small-breed dogs. No sex predisposition was found.