Antibiotic treatment in guinea pigs can predispose to which condition?

• A. Enterotoxemia
• B. Bloat
• C. Salmonellosis
• D. Ringworm

Answer: (A)

Antibiotics disrupt the normal gut flora in guinea pigs, reducing colonization resistance and allowing toxin-producing bacteria to overgrow. In these animals, the classic offender is Clostridium difficile, whose toxins damage the intestinal lining and trigger enterotoxemia. This can lead to severe diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, and potentially death, especially with broad-spectrum or inappropriate antibiotic use.

The other options don’t fit this specific risk pattern: bloat is a gas-accumulation issue not directly caused by antibiotic disruption of gut flora; Salmonellosis can occur but isn’t classically precipitated by antibiotics in guinea pigs; ringworm is a fungal infection unrelated to antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis.