Prevalence and antibiotic resistance pattern of certain types of bacterial flora in uterine ewe's samples

A study was carried out in abattoirs to identify certain bacterial flora in a number of samples collected from ewes' uteri with detection of phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of the identified bacteria. The study was done in the South of Iraq during a period that started in February and ended in March 2015. Seventy-nine samples were collected randomly and aseptically, examined grossly, cultured using standard bacteriological techniques and examined for antibiotic resistance. Thirty-one isolates were reported belong to the following bacteria with resistance percentages accordingly: Escherichia coli 41. 94% (No: 13), Klebsiella spp. 29.03% (No: 9), Enterobacter spp. 16.13% (No: 5), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 6.45% (No: 2) and Proteus spp. 6.45% (No: 2). Results revealed that 100% (No: 31) of isolates were resistant to oxacillin while resistance to both ampicillin and tetracycline appeared in 93.64% (No: 30), 41.92% (No: 13) of isolates respectively, moreover there was for some extent resistance to ceftriaxone 9.68% (No: 3), while the isolates were highly susceptible to cefamandole and gentamicin. The isolates were also examined to determine the presence of blaSHV genes by PCR assay which showed that 12.9% of isolates harbored this gene. This study contributes to a better knowledge about identified bacterial species inhabiting the uterus of ewes and exerting a significant and distinct antimicrobial resistance pattern.