FREQUENCY AND ANTIMICROBIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS IN SHEEP IN KOSOVO

Avni Robaj, Driton Sylejmani, Afrim Hamidi, Hysen Bytyqi

Abstract: The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in sheep in Kosovo and to determine the susceptibility of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolates to some antimicrobial agents. Live animals (284 sheep) were examined clinically for the presence of abscesses and enlarged superfi cial lymph nodes. 38 samples (pyogenic aspirates) from enlarged lymph nodes were collected using sterile needles and syringes according to the techniques recommended by Quinn et al. (1994). Samples were subjected to culture on heart infusion agar containing 5% defi brinated sheep blood, while isolates were differentiated by using biochemical API tests. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis was isolated from 32(84.2%) of the 38 samples, followed by Staphylococcus aureus 4/38 (10.5%), and Streptococcus pyogenes 2/38 (5.3%). The frequency of CLA in sheep was 11.3%. A total of 56 bacterial isolates were recovered and most predominant were Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (n = 48), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (n = 5), and Streptococcus pyogenes (n = 3). These bacterial isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test using disc diffusion method and performed according to CLSI guidelines in Mueller-Hinton agar. In vitro antibiogram studies of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolates were found to be complete susceptible to oxytetracycline (100%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (100%), and highly susceptible to cloxacillin (95.8%), gentamicin (91.7%), followed by trimethoprim (83.3%). However these isolates were highly resistant to streptomycin (83.3%), and penicillin G (62.5%).

Keywords: antimicrobial susceptibility; Caseous lymphadenitis; Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis; sheep

Date published: 2018-01-15