Aim: To study the prevalence of bacterial flora in the Hanuman langur (Presbytis
entellus) of the Gujarat state. Materials and Methods: Thirty hanuman
langur (Presbytis entellus) (20 male and 10 female), were screened for bacterial
flora during the period of June, 2010 to March, 2011. Hanuman langur (Presbytis
entellus) were screened by culture of nasal, oral and rectal swabs during
routine health monitoring and samples incubated using appropriate media and
specific selective culture methods. Bacterial organisms from the normal as well
of affected with various diseases and disorders conditions viz. infected wound,
electric shock, road accident, jaw injury, stomatitis, respiratory infection and
diarrhea were subcultured and identified for genus and species. Results:
Significant normal pathogens of the nasal and oral swabs were found mainly
Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Klebsiella spp., and Proteus spp.
whereas from the rectal swabs of hanuman langur the significant pathogen noted
were Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., E. coli spp., Salmonella spp.,
Proteus vulgaris spp., Klebsiella spp. and Shigella spp. The serotypes of E.coli
isolated from rectal swabs of hanuman langur were identified as rough type, O138
and O20. The major antigenic structure of E. coli revealed O138 (10), O20 (6)
with rough types (2). Out of the total 10 cases of diarrhea O138 was observed
from five isolates while O20 recorded from 3 cases. Out of remained two isolates
one isolate of diarrhea revealed rough type and one revealed non typing
antigenic structure.
Conclusion: The bacteriological prevalence in
healthy and infected hanuman langurs in Gujarat reported for the first time in
the current study may serve as a guideline for future studies in the same
species.
Keywords: bacterial flora, Hanuman langur, nasal swab, oral
swab, rectal swab
