ELIMINATION OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS-INTERMEDIUS IN HEALTHY DOGS BY TOPICAL TREATMENT WITH FUSIDIC ACID

Cutaneous and mucosal carriage of Staphylococcus intermedius was inves tigated in six healthy beagles before and after application of fusidic acid to mucosal surfaces as 1 per cent viscous eye drops twice daily for seven days. Bacterial populations were determined repeatedly over four weeks using quantitative techniques. The overall cutaneous popula tions of S intermedius reduced significantly (P<0.01) two days after t reatment but returned to pretreatment levels after a further week. The mucosal frequency of S intermedius reduced significantly (P<0.001) tw o days after treatment and remained reduced (P<0.01) at the end of the study. The mucosal populations were also reduced (P<0.01) two days af ter treatment and remained lower (P<0.05) after a further week. No suc h changes occurred in the control group of six beagles. The study indi cates the importance of mucosae as carriage sites for S intermedius in dogs. This form of therapy may be useful as an additional tool agains t canine recurrent pyoderma.