EVALUATION OF BACTERIAL INVOLVEMENT IN AN EPISODE OF NEONATAL CALF DIARRHEA

Abstract

Diarrhea and digestive disorders represent one of the leading causes of mortality in calves during the first days of life. This study aimed to establish the level of antibiotic resistance of the flora identified in calves with digestive problems and also in their environment. Bălțată Românească calves aged up to three weeks, showing an increased morbidity/mortality from a farm in Brașov county, as well as their habitat were sampled. Eight antimicrobials used in ruminants and on this specific farm (penicillin, streptomycin, amoxicillin, gentamicin, oxytetracycline, tulathromycin, cefaclor, trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole) were tested for their efficacy against the bacterial isolates. The samples were subjected to standard microbiological examinations; subsequently, strains such as Escherichia fergusoni, Escherichia hermannii, Shigella dysenteriae, Proteus penneri, Morganella morganii ssp. siboni, Escherichia coli, Escherichia vulneris, with potentially high pathogenicity were identified. The highest antibacterial efficacy was observed with gentamicin. The MAR (multiple antibiotic resistance) index exceeded the value of 0.2 for each of the tested strains, indicating a high level of antibiotic resistance of the isolated bacterial population, thus supporting the inducive role of isolated species in the clinical episodes.