Approximately 8,000 isolates of Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli, isolated by 25 veterinary laboratories across North America between 2002 and 2010, were tested for in vitro susceptibility to
beta-lactam,
macrolide, and lincosamide drugs. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the
beta-lactam drugs remained low against most of the Gram-positive strains tested, and no substantial changes in the MIC distributions were seen over time. Of the
beta-lactam antimicrobial agents tested, only
ceftiofur showed good in vitro activity against E. coli. The MICs of the
macrolides and
lincosamides also remained low against Gram-positive
mastitis pathogens. While the MIC values given by 50% of isolates (MIC50) for
erythromycin and
pirlimycin and the streptococci were all low (≤0.5 µg/ml), the MIC values given by 90% of isolates (MIC90) were higher and more variable, but with no apparent increase over time. Staphylococcus aureus showed little change in
erythromycin susceptibility over time, but there may be a small, numerical increase in
pirlimycin MIC50 and MIC90 values. Overall, the results suggest that
mastitis pathogens in the United States and Canada have not shown any substantial changes in the in vitro susceptibility to
beta-lactam,
macrolide, and lincosamide drugs tested over the 9 years of the study.