The use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine enters a new phase. The Ministry of Health has published the guidelines on “prudent use of the antibiotic in dogs and cats“, a technical document that aims to reduce one of the most urgent health problems of our time: antibiotic resistance.
This is not a topic that only concerns hospitals or human medicine, as one might think. Pets are also involved, and their role is increasingly important from a One Health perspective, which considers human, animal and environmental health as a single system.
Why are these guidelines important? Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria, exposed too often or incorrectly to antibiotics, learn to survive the drugs that should eliminate them. This means that infections that are easily treatable today may become more difficult to treat in the future, both in animals and people.
Dogs and cats, living increasingly in close contact with families, can also contribute to the circulation of these bacteria in the home environment. But the central point is broader: the incorrect use of antibiotics accelerates a global problem that affects everyone.
The guidelines are the result of the work of a multidisciplinary group which involved university experts, public sector veterinarians and freelancers, as well as representatives of the Zooprophylactic Institutes and competent institutions. The review updated to 2026 was also evaluated by the Directorate General of Animal Health, to guarantee consistency with national policies on veterinary health.
What the new guidelines say
A central aspect highlighted by the new guidelines concerns the change in the relationship between people and pets. In recent decades, dogs and cats have become an increasingly integral part of family life: they live at home, share spaces, daily habits and are the subject of growing health attention. This change, on the one hand positive for animal welfare (and also for ours), has however also led to an increase in veterinary care and, consequently, in the use of antibiotics.
It is precisely in this context that an often underestimated risk arises: the possible transmission of resistant bacteria between animals and people. Increasingly close contact within families can in fact favor the “two-way” circulation of microorganisms, which can pass from animals to humans and vice versa, contributing to the domestic spread of strains that are more difficult to treat.
Among the bacteria cited as particularly relevant are some microorganisms already known in human hospitals, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), some carbapenemase-producing enterobacteria and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP).
It should also be underlined that the guidelines do not introduce legal obligations, but offer a technical reference for veterinarians with the aim of making therapies more targeted and effective. The basic principle is simple: use antibiotics only when they are really needed, and in the right way. A very valid principle for us human beings too.
The recommendations first of all underline the importance of diagnosis before any antibiotic therapy. In fact, before prescribing an antibiotic, it is necessary to ascertain that the infection is of bacterial origin and, when possible, to use an antibiogram, a test that allows you to identify the responsible microorganism and choose the most effective drug.
The choice of therapy must then be increasingly targeted and less “automatic”. It is not simply a question of treating an infection, but of doing so following precise criteria that take into account clinical efficacy, safety for the animal and above all the lowest possible impact on the selection of resistant bacteria. In this context, particular attention is paid to antibiotics considered critical for human medicine, which must be used only when strictly necessary.
Another fundamental pillar concerns prevention and hygiene in veterinary facilities. The guidelines reiterate how essential correct hand hygiene is, thorough sanitization of environments, the appropriate use of personal protective equipment and the separation of spaces based on the level of infectious risk. Infection control, in fact, does not only depend on drugs, but also on daily prevention practices.
The document also reminds us that antibiotics are not always necessary. Many respiratory infections, for example, are of viral origin and tend to resolve spontaneously, while some skin infections can be treated with local therapies. Even the mere presence of bacteria is not automatically synonymous with a disease that needs to be treated with antibiotics.
Finally, the central role of the animal owner is underlined. Correctly following the doses and duration of the therapy, without interrupting the treatment prematurely and without using antibiotics without veterinary indications, is essential to guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment and avoid the development of resistance.
Antibiotic resistance is not a future problem, but an already present reality involving animal health, human health and the environment. For this reason, the prudent use of antibiotics represents an essential element of public health, because protecting these drugs today means guaranteeing effective treatments tomorrow too.
You can read the full guidelines HERE.
