Antibiotics

Sources of Infection

The “source” of an infection is the biological niche where the bacteria lived prior to emerging as an infection. It is useful to consider the source of any infection as it provides insight as to the kind(s) bacteria that might be present as well as their susceptibility. For example, bacteremia arising in a puppy with a parvoviral infection is most likely caused by bacteria that were part of the enteric flora. As a secondary consideration, it may be that antimicrobial resistance among bacteria from a particular source have been affected by previous exposure to antimicrobials.