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Copyright: The authors. This article is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

Research (Published online : 22-06-2013)
8. The study of aerobic bacterial flora of the upper respiratory tract of equines from Jammu and Kashmir region of India - Irfan Ahmad Mir, Bablu Kumar, Anil Taku ,Najimaana Wani, Farah Naz Faridi, Showkat Ahmad Dar, Sabahat Gazal, Gulzar Ahmad Badroo, Aijaz Ahmad Zargar and Asif Iqbal

Vet World. 2013; 6(9): 623-627

 

doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2013.623-627

 

 

 

 

Abstract

Aim: To isolate aerobic bacterial micro flora residing in the upper respiratory tract of equines used by the pilgrims and tourists in Jammu & Kashmir.
Materials and Methods: 88 apparently healthy equines and 53 equines with respiratory tract diseases were used in this study. Swab samples were collected from the upper respiratory tract of equines. Isolation and identification of the bacteria was conducted under aerobic conditions. Each of the sample processed yielded at least one type of bacteria species.
Results: A total of 321 bacterial isolates were recovered from both groups of equines. The majority of the isolates were Gram positive (84.11%) and the rest were Gram negative (15.88%). Bacterial isolates identified in order of the magnitude were Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (17.44%), Micrococcus spp. (9.96%), Corynebacterium spp. (9.65%), Staphylococcus intermedius (9.65%), Staphylococcus aureus (8.72%), Bacillus spp. (7.16%), Streptococcus pneumonia (5.60%), Staphylococcus chromogens (5.60%), Streptococcus equismilis (5.29%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.29%), Rhodococcus equi (3.73%), Escherichia coli (3.73%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (3.42%), Proteus vulgaris (3.42%), and Streptococcus equi subsp. equi (1.24%).
Conclusion: The present study reveals the predominance of Gram positive bacteria in both healthy and diseased animals. Bacteria were recovered at a higher rate from diseased equines than from apparently healthy animals. Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus was mainly found to be associated with respiratory tract infections.
Keywords: bacterial flora, equines, respiratory tract, Rhodococcus equi, Streptococcus equi

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