Molecular characterization of Staphylococcus spp. isolated from respiratory tract of apparently healthy and clinically sick sheep and goat in Nagpur, India

Abstract

Present study was undertaken to characterize Staphylococcus spp. associated with respiratory tract infection in small ruminants. A total of 139 bacterial isolates were recovered from clinically sick and apparently healthy small ruminants. The prevalence rate of Staphylococcus spp. in sick and healthy animals was 44.94 and 24% respectively. The sensitivity pattern of selected antibiotics was similar in both clinically sick and apparently healthy animals except streptomycin and penicillin-G. PCR assay was standardized for the detection of pathogenic genes of Staphylococcus spp. viz. clfA and spa. Among 34 random isolates selected, the prevalence rate of clfA and spa gene was 79.41 and 58.82% respectively indicating their pathogenic potential. In conclusion, Staphylococcus spp. was found to be one of the highly prevalent organism in respiratory tract infections.