Environmental <i>Streptococcus uberis</i> Associated with Clinical Mastitis in Dairy Cows: Virulence Traits, Antimicrobial and Biocide Resistance, and Epidemiological Typing

Mastitis remains a serious problem for dairy animals. The misappropriation of antimicrobial agents helps accelerate resistance, which poses a serious challenge in controlling environmental <i>S. uberis</i> infection. Here, we study the virulence attributes, antimicrobial and biocide resi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Norhan K. Abd El-Aziz, Ahmed M. Ammar, Hend M. El Damaty, Rehab A. Abd Elkader, Hosam A. Saad, Waleed El-Kazzaz, Eman Khalifa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-06-01
Series:Animals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/1849
Description
Summary:Mastitis remains a serious problem for dairy animals. The misappropriation of antimicrobial agents helps accelerate resistance, which poses a serious challenge in controlling environmental <i>S. uberis</i> infection. Here, we study the virulence attributes, antimicrobial and biocide resistance, and epidemiological typing of <i>S. uberis</i> recovered from bovine clinical mastitis in dairy farms of diverse hygienic interventions in Egypt. The overall <i>S. uberis</i> infection rate was 20.59%; all were multidrug-resistant (MDR). The <i>sua</i> gene was the most frequent virulence gene (42.02%), followed by <i>pau</i>A (40.57%), <i>cfu</i> (21.73%), <i>skc</i> (20.28%), and <i>opp</i> (11.59%). The <i>erm</i>(B) gene served as the predominant antimicrobial-resistant gene (75.36%), followed by <i>fexA</i> (52.63%) and <i>tet</i>(M), <i>blaZ</i>, and <i>aac(6′)aph(2″)</i> genes (46.38% each). Of note, 79.71%, 78.26%, and 18.84% of <i>S. uberis</i> isolates harbored <i>qacED1</i>, <i>qacC/D</i>, and <i>qacA/B</i> genes, respectively. All analyzed isolates were <i>S. uberis</i> type I by their unique RFLP–PCR pattern. In conclusion, the sustained presence of <i>pauA</i> and <i>sua</i> genes throughout the investigated farms contributes to a better understanding of the bacterium’s pathogenicity. Furthermore, MDR coupled with the existence of biocide resistance genes indicates the importance of <i>S. uberis</i> surveillance and the prudent use of antimicrobials in veterinary clinical medicine to avoid the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
ISSN:2076-2615