Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococci isolated from the vagina of healthy ewes

Abstract

The aims of this study were identify the species of Staphylococcus sp. from the vagina of healthy ewes and determine their invitro susceptibility to antibiotics. Sterile cotton swabs were used to collect samples from the vagina of 24 ewes. Standardbacteriological procedures were conducted. Coagulase-positive Staphylococcus species (COPS) represented 60% of theisolates and were significantly more resistant to antibiotics than coagulase-negative isolates. Resistance to antibiotics wasfrequently observed, and 66.6% of the isolates showed resistance to at least one tested drug. Ciprofloxacin was the mostactive antimicrobial agent (100%), while Penicillin G was the less effective (40% of resistance). This study confirms thepresence of Staphylococcal isolates in the vagina of ewes, with predominance of CoPS isolates resistant to various antibiotics.This study contributes to a better knowledge about the role of Staphylococcus species in the ewe’s vagina and their antimicrobialsusceptibility, collaborating for a better treatment of the vaginitis determined by these bacteria.