A carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales outbreak at a veterinary teaching hospital in the United States increased urgency for improved communication among diagnostic laboratories, public health authorities, veterinarians, and pet owners. Kansas State University, University of Missouri, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network created a surveillance, storage, and reporting protocol for veterinary antimicrobial-resistant bacteria; determined frequency of those bacteria in companion animals during 2018-2021; and created educational flyers for veterinarians and pet owners. We recommend a One Health strategy to create efficient surveillance programs to identify and report antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and educate veterinarians and pet owners about transmission risks.
Keywords: Enterobacterales; Kansas; MRSA and other staphylococci; Missouri; One Health; Pseudomonas; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus pseudintermedius; United States; antimicrobial resistance; bacteria; carbapenem-resistant; carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales; companion animals; educational flyers; public health; zoonoses.