The aim of the study was phenotypic and genotypic analysis of 132 S. aureus strains isolated from mastitis in eastern Poland in respect to their biofilm formation ability. The analysis of the size polymorphism of fragment X in the gene encoding protein A (spa) revealed high genetic differentiation of the analyzed group of isolates. The ability of biofilm formation by the isolates was tested using two phenotypic methods. The Congo Red plate assay was found to be irreproducible and very subjective. More objective results were obtained using the spectrophotometric, microtiter plate assay. Most of the isolates, namely 76/132 (57.6 %) were classified as biofilm producers depending on the value of absorbance in the microtiter plate test. All of the isolates tested were found to possess both icaA and icaD genes, while the bap gene was absent in all strains.

The aim of this study was to analyze the resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine mastitis in the eastern part of Poland to a set of 20 antibiotics and three alternative agents: lysostaphin, nisin and polymyxin B. Eighty-six out of 123 examined isolates were susceptible to all 20 tested antibiotics (70%). The highest percentage of resistance was observed in the case of β-lactam antibiotics: amoxicillin (n=22, 17.9%), ampicillin (n=28, 22.8%), penicillin (n=29, 23.6%) and streptomycin (n=13; 10.6%). Twenty-five of the penicillin-resistant strains were found to carry the blaZ gene coding for β-lactamases. Two strains were found to be mecA positive and a few strains were classified as multidrug resistant (MDR), one of them was simultaneously resistant to six antibiotics. All strains, resistant to at least one antibiotic (n=37) and two control strains, were susceptible to lysostaphin with MIC values of 0.008–0.5 µg/ml (susceptibility breakpoint 32 µg/ml). Twenty-one (54%) isolates were susceptible to nisin. The MIC value of this agent for 17 (44%) strains was 51.2 µg/ml and was not much higher than the susceptibility breakpoint value (32 µg/ml). Polymyxin B was able to inhibit the growth of the strains only at a high concentration (32–128 µg/ml). The presented results confirmed the observed worldwide problem of spreading antibiotic resistance among staphylococci isolated from bovine mastitis; on the other hand, we have indicated a high level of bactericidal activity of nisin and especially lysostaphin.

The aim of this study was to examine phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance of staphylococci from milk samples from cows with subclinical and clinical mastitis and from cows without mastitis symptoms to methicillin, tetracyclines, macrolides and lincosamides (ML). Of 207 strains, including 34 S. aureus and 173 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), 11 (6.4%) CNS strains were phenotypically resistant to methicillin. The mecA gene was detected by PCR only in two S. xylosus strains and one strain of S. epidermidis and S. simulans. No methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains were observed. In methicillin-resistant strains with mecA, gene resistance to other investigated antibiotics was not observed. Phenotypic resistance to tetracycline was detected in 11.0% of CNS strains and 47.4% of them carried the tetK gene. Of 173 CNS strains studied, 27 (15.6%) were resistant to at least one ML antibiotic. The resistance gene ermC was detected in 55.5% of the 27 ML-resistant strains. The ermA and ermB genes were detected in 14.8% and 11.1% of ML-resistant CNS strains, respectively. Antimicrobial resistance to methicillin, tetracyclines and macrolides was detected more frequently in staphylococcal strains from clinical mastitis compared to animals with subclinical symptoms and without mastitis, while the resistance to lincosamides showed a similar frequency in all groups of cows. In conclusion, CNS species from bovine milk differ in phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance profiles, and the use of PCR technique alone for the detection of methicillin, macrolide, lincosamide and tetyracycline resistance in CNS from cattle is not reliable.

The main problem in the treatment of nosocomial infections is the increasing drug resistance of microorganisms that cause them, limiting the number of effective antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacilli are the cause of many serious hospital-acquired infections occurring primarily in patients within high-risk groups. The most vulnerable are those with weakened immune systems, as well as those with extensive surgical wounds and burn wounds. Infections are usually of the nature of secondary infections, caused by multidrug strains. Due to the high antimicrobial activity, beta-lactams, aminoglycosides and quinolones are drugs commonly used in hospitals, both in prevention and treatment of infections with P. aeruginosa. However, their irrational use is associated with selection and spread of strains resistant to these antibiotics. Resistance of P. aeruginosa to antibiotics is the result of a number of independent co-occurring mechanisms. These are: reducing the membrane permeability, the efflux system, and production of enzymes inactivating and degrading antibiotics. The paper devotes special attention to the determination of resistance mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon.