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Detection of Tetracycline-Resistant and Susceptible Pasteurellaceae in the Nasopharynx of Loose Group-Housed Calves

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine which Pasteurella and Mannheimia species are present in the upper respiratory tract of healthy calves with no history of antimicrobial treatment prior to sampling. The presence of subpopulations of tetracycline-resistant Pasteurellaceae was also investigated. Nasal swabs from 61 loose group-housed, clinically healthy calves, 1 to 4 months old, from 16 dairy herds were inoculated aerobically on a selective medium (Columbia agar with 5% ovine blood and 16 mg/L bacitracin) with or without 4 mg/L oxytetracycline (OTC). A total of 43 strains belonging to the family Pasteurellaceae were isolated from 38 calves (62.3%) out of 13 herds (81.3%). The predominant organisms were Pasteurella multocida subsp. multocida (57.4%), Mannheimia varigena (4.9%) and M. haemolytica (3.2%). Growth of Pasteurellaceae on the OTC-containing medium was seen only with samples from two herds (6 animals; 9.8%), and on only one farm this proved to be an OTC-resistant subpopulation. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determinations by means of agar dilution confirmed a low prevalence of OTC-resistant Pasteurellaceae, with overall MIC50 and MIC90 values of 0.25 and 32 mg/L, respectively. These data do not support the hypothesis that the relative high frequency of tetracycline-resistant P. multocida isolates from fatal cases of bovine respiratory disease is related to the presence of minor tetracycline-resistance subpopulations within this species.

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Abbreviations

BAC:

bacitracin

BRD:

bovine respiratory disease

CCUG:

Culture Collection University of Götenborg, Sweden

cfu:

colony-forming units

MIC:

minimum inhibitory concentration

OTC:

oxytetra-cycline

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

SD:

standard deviation

(sub)sp.:

(sub)species

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium

    B. Catry & A. de Kruif

  2. Department of Pathology, Bacteriology, and Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium

    A. Decostere & F. Haesebrouck

  3. Institut für Tierzucht, Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL), Neustadt-Mariensee, Germany

    S. Schwarz & C. Kehrenberg

Authors
  1. B. Catry
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  2. A. Decostere
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  3. S. Schwarz
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  4. C. Kehrenberg
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  5. A. de Kruif
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  6. F. Haesebrouck
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Correspondence to B. Catry.

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Catry, B., Decostere, A., Schwarz, S. et al. Detection of Tetracycline-Resistant and Susceptible Pasteurellaceae in the Nasopharynx of Loose Group-Housed Calves. Vet Res Commun 30, 707–715 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-006-3347-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-006-3347-8

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