ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
This article is part of the Research TopicAntibiotic Resistance in Livestock: Genomic Insights, Evolution of Use, and Integrated Mitigation StrategiesView all 8 articles
Pan-European analysis shows stable, low antimicrobial resistance in most bovine and porcine respiratory tract pathogens
Provisionally accepted
- 1consultant, Limburg, Netherlands
- 2CEESA, Brussels, Belgium
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Aims: To survey antibiotic susceptibility of bacteria causing bovine and porcine respiratory tract infections in eight European countries and to compare retrospectively the resistance percentages between the countries participating in the VetPath programmes. Methods and Results: Nonreplicate nasopharyngeal/nasal or lung swabs were collected by harmonized sampling from animals with acute respiratory signs during the period 2019-2020. Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica, Histophilus somni from cattle (n=307), and P. multocida, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Glaesserella parasuis, Bordetella bronchiseptica and Streptococcus suis from pigs (n=659) were isolated by standard methods. S. suis was also isolated from meningitis cases. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) were assessed following CLSI standards and interpreted using veterinary breakpoints where available. H. somni isolates were fully susceptible against all tested antibiotics. Resistance in bovine P. multocida and M. haemolytica was absent or low, except for tetracycline (29.7 and 19.6% resistance for the two bacteria, respectively). Low macrolide and spectinomycin resistance were observed for M. haemolytica (1.5-2.3%) contrary to P. multocida (8.3-22.1%). Similar susceptibility patterns were observed in pigs. Resistance in P. multocida, A. pleuropneumoniae and S. suis to ceftiofur, enrofloxacin, florfenicol, and penicillin was absent or <3.0%. Tetracycline resistance varied from 11.4% to 13.9% but was 83.2% in S. suis. For all pathogens multidrug-resistance was low (0-6.2%). Overall, antibiotic resistance in the 2019-2020 survey remained similar as in the 2009-2012 and 2015-2016 surveys. Among the countries significant variations of resistance levels were observed, particularly for tetracycline. Drivers behind these country differences remain unclear. Conclusions: With the exception of tetracycline, low antibiotic resistance was observed among major bovine and porcine respiratory tract pathogens in Europe.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance surveillance (AMR), Cattle, Minimal inhibitory concentrations, pigs, Respiratory Infections
Received: 13 Nov 2025; Accepted: 19 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 de Jong, Temmerman, Rose, Simjee, EL GARCH and Study Group. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Anno de Jong
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