Isolation and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus spp., enteric bacteria and Pseudomonas spp. associated with respiratory tract infections of sheep

Sheep are considered as an important part of livestock in the worldwide, particularly in Iraq, as they provide meat, milk, leather, wool, and manure. The present study aim is isolation and identification of staphylococci, enteric bacteria and Pseudomonas spp. Totally, 115 samples were collected from sheep (100 samples were collected from the nasal cavity of local sheep suffering from respiratory infections, and 15 samples were collected from apparently healthy local sheep). All the samples were collected from seven flocks located in Abu Ghraib and Al-Radwaniyah, Baghdad governorate, Iraq. The samples were taken during the period from October 2020 to February 2021. Staphylococcus spp., Pseudomonas spp., andenteric bacteria were detected firstly by using classical diagnostic methods, and secondly they were identified to the species level by using the corresponding analytical profile index (API 20 staph, API 20NE and API 20E) and via the Vitek2 system. Importantly, from nasal swabs, 79% bacterial isolates were obtained, including Enterobacter cloacae, Escherichia coli, Raoutltella planticola, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus among others. The antimicrobial susceptibility test showed multi-drug resistant S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae. To conclude, several aerobic bacteria were isolated from the nasal cavity of diseased sheep. An extensive study is needed to determine the economic and public health impacts of these bacteria.