The objectives of this study were to determine antimicrobial resistance patterns of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine clinical mastitis cases and to subtype the strains by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique based on coagulase gene polymorphism. Two hundred sixty-five S. aureus isolates collected from individual animals in different herds (n = 235) from 1995 to 2004 were tested for susceptibility to penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, oxacillin, oxytetracycline, enrofloxacin, kanamycin-cephalexin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole using the agar disc diffusion test. Strains were also tested for beta-lactamase production. A total of 29.8% of the strains were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested. The highest resistance was observed in 63.3% of the strains against beta-lactam antibiotics, penicillin and ampicillin. Oxytetracycline resistance was observed in 27.9% of the strains, either alone or in combination with beta-lactams. No resistance was detected for amoxicillin-clavulanate, oxacillin, enrofloxacin and kanamycin-cephalexin. beta-Lactamase production and resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics were usually correlated. Resistance against beta-lactams increased from 43.5% in 1995 to 58 to 77% from 1999 to 2004. One hundred twenty-five strains were examined for coagulase gene polymorphism. The isolates were subtyped into 4 types by coagulase gene-based PCR. A predominant 1000-bp PCR product was observed in 60.8% of the isolates typed. The results indicate that a few coagulase gene types of S. aureus are responsible for the majority of bovine clinical mastitis cases in one province of Central Anatolia region, Turkey.

Although it is generally accepted that M.bovis leads to tuberculosis in cattle, there are statements given from the different regions of the world, referring to the fact that M. tuberculosis, which is known as the human tuberculosis agent, causes tuberculosis in cattle as well. The material of the study consisted of 13 M. tuberculosis isolates which were isolated and identified from the organ pieces of 95 cattle with the culture methods; these organ pieces had been taken from the cattle with granulomatous lesion detection after the slaughtering in slaughterhouses located in Çukurova region and brought to the laboratory under sterile conditions. It was determined in the genotyping conducted by using the Spoligotyping method that 13 of the 55 isolates were M. tuberculosis and they belonged to the T1 family (SIT53) by becoming dense in one cluster (100%). Consequently, it was shown with this study that M. tuberculosis, which leads to tuberculosis in humans, could be transmitted from humans to animals and from animals to humans again, and researching the human and epidemiological tuberculosis cases by using molecular epidemiology-based methods such as spoligotyping might provide useful information about explaining the ways of transmission of tuberculosis. Türkiye'de Sığırlardan İzole Edilen M. tuberculosis Suşlarının Spoligotiplendirmesi Özet Tüberkülozise sığırlarda, M. bovis'in sebep olduğu genel olarak kabul edilmesine rağmen insan tüberkülozis etkeni olarak bilinen M. tuberculosis'in de sığırlarda tüberkülozise neden olduğuna dair dünyanın farklı bölgelerinden yapılmış bildirimler bulunmaktadır. Çalışmanın materyalini Çukurova bölgesinde bulunan mezbahalarda kesim sonrası granülamatöz lezyon tespit edilen sığırlardan alınan ve steril şartlarda laboratuvara ulaştırılan 95 adet sığıra ait organ parçalarından kültür yöntemleri ile izole ve identifiye edilen 13 adet M. tuberculosis izolatı oluşturdu. Spoligotyping yöntemi ile yapılan genotiplendirmede 55 izolattan 13 tanesinin M. tuberculosis olduğu ve bunların tek bir küme içerisinde yoğunlaşarak (%100) T1 ailesine (SIT53) ait olduğu belirlendi. Sonuç olarak bu çalışma ile insanlarda tüberkülozise neden olan M. tuberculosis'in insanlardan hayvanlara, hayvanlardan da tekrar insanlara bulaşabileceği, insan ve hayvan kaynaklı tüberkülozis vakalarının spoligotyping gibi moleküler epidemiyolojik temelli yöntemlerle araştırılmasının tüberkülozisin bulaş yollarının açıklanması konusunda faydalı bilgiler verebileceği gösterilmiştir.

Bovine tuberculosis, as a significant threat to both animal and human health, is a common global zoonotic disease. The emergence of molecular epidemiology has made it possible to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of disease transmission, and consequently, to come up with more effective control methods. The present study seeks to identify Mycobacterium bovis isolates in our region at a genotype level. To this end, the molecular epidemiological characteristics of Mycobacterium bovis strains isolated using classical methods and identified using molecular methods from the tissues and organs of cattle with suspected tuberculosis, obtained from slaughterhouses in the Konya province, or from those sent to Konya Veterinary Control Institute, were determined through genotyping. In the analysis of a total of 70 Mycobacterium bovis isolates, carried out using the MIRU-VNTR method, it was found that the repeat numbers for MIRU2, MIRU4, MIRU20, MIRU23, MIRU24, MIRU27, and MIRU39 loci did not vary between strains, while the repeat numbers for MIRU10, MIRU16, MIRU26, MIRU31, and MIRU40 loci varied between strains and had a high discriminatory power (0.25≤h). It was further observed that 29 subgroups between 1-14 isolates formed. The movement of animals in our region, which occurs for several reasons, is considered to cause Mycobacterium bovis strains to vary between herds, and the fact that the cattle from which the isolates were sourced for our study came from different herds was considered to cause a variation in the discriminatory power in the MIRU loci.

In this study, we investigated the potential roles of Brucella melitensis and PPR virus (PPRV) infections in a case of sheep abortion. Samples were collected from PPR-suspected ewe and its aborted foetus from a sheep flock in the Antalya Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey in 2016. The presence of Brucella spp. directly assessed by bacterial isolation and detection of PPRV was carried by real time RT-PCR. Genetic characterization of the PPRV field isolates was conducted by sequencing the fusion (F) gene of PPRV. Brucella strain was isolated from the samples of aborted sheep foetus, and it was identified as Brucella melitensis by biochemical characteristics, agglutination with monospecific A and M sera. PPRV RNA was detected in samples of PPR-suspected ewe and its foetus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the field isolate of PPRV obtained in this study was clustered within lineage IV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the dual infection of aborted sheep foetus with PPRV and Brucella melitensis.

In this study, we investigated the potential roles of BDV and Brucella melitensis infections in a case of sheep abortion. Internal organ specimens from aborted sheep foetus and EDTA whole blood sample from mother of the foetus were collected from a sheep flock in the Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey in 2017. The presence of Brucella spp. directly assessed by bacterial isolation and detection of BDV was carried by real time RT-PCR. Genetic characterization of the BDV field isolate was conducted by sequencing the 5'-end untranslated region (UTR) region of BDV. Brucella strain was isolated from the samples of aborted sheep foetus, and it was identified as Brucella melitensis by biochemical characteristics, agglutination with monospecific A and M sera. BDV RNA was detected in EDTA whole blood sample and aborted sheep foetus. Phylogenetic analysis in 5'-UTR region allocated the field isolate of BDV obtained in this study into BDV-7 genotype. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the dual infection of aborted sheep foetus with BDV and Brucella melitensis.