Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Uterine Bacterial Isolates From Mares with Endometritis in India

Abstract

B ACKGROUND: Endometritis is a major cause of infertility in mares worldwide.In India, information on endometritis in mares is limited. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify uterine bacterial isolates from endometritis-affected mares in India and evaluate their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Methods: Endometritis was diagnosed based on history of infertility and findings from transrectal examination, visual inspection of low-volume uterine lavage samples, endometrial cytology and bacterial culture. Uterine lavage samples were collected from 15 mares with endometritis and subjected to bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility test. Results: The most common bacterial isolates were Escherichia coli (E. coli, 40.0%), Staphylococcus (26.7%), Streptococcus (20.0%), and Klebsiella (13.3%) species. Most of the E. coli isolates were susceptible to gentamicin (83.3%), netilmicin sulphate (83.3%), tobramycin (83.3%), nitrofurantoin (83.3%), amikacin (66.7%), and ampicillin/sulbactam (66.7%). All of the Staphylococcus isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, amikacin, and ampicillin/ sulbactam. All Streptococcus and Klebsiella isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, amikacin, and netilmicin sulphate. Furthermore, all Klebsiella isolates were susceptible to sparfloxacin, ampicillin/sulbactam, tobramycin, cefadroxil, and co-trimoxazole. Ampicillin and amoxicillin were the least effective antimicrobials with susceptibility percentages ranging between 0 to 33.3% for the various isolates. Conclusions: The results suggest that E. coli is the most common cause of equine endometritis in India. Based on the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, it can be concluded that gentamicin, amikacin, netilmicin sulphate and ampicillin/sulbactam may be the best first-line antimicrobials for clinical application in equine endometritis cases in India while awaiting antimicrobial susceptibility test results.