Antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococci species from cow foremilk originating from dairy farms around Gaborone, Botswana.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus species isolated from foremilk samples.


METHODS
Milk was collected from five farms within a 70 km radius of Gaborone, Botswana.


METHODS
Two hundred and twenty five staphylococci isolates from foremilk samples.


METHODS
Antibiotic susceptibility tests to penicillin G, ampicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, methicillin, gentamicin and vancomycin.


RESULTS
The susceptibility patterns of the staphylococcal strains to the antibiotics were as follows: penicillin G (47.1%), ampicillin (58.7%), tetracycline (62.7%), erythromycin (72%), cephalothin (72.9%), chloramphenicol (79.1%), methicillin (86.2%), gentamicin (88.9%) and vancomycin (100%). Lower susceptibility to chloramphenicol, methicillin and gentamicin was displayed by Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. haemolyticus and S. saprophyticus. Only 19 (8.5%) of the isolates were susceptible to all the antibiotics tested. The most common multiple resistance patterns encountered were penicillin-ampicillin (9.3%), penicillin-erythromycin-ampicillin (6.1%) and erythromycin-tetracycline-ampicillin (3.6%).


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the Staphylococcus isolates were resistant to one or more of the antimicrobial agents, with none being resistant to vancomycin. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is suspected to be a major contributory factor in the relatively high level of resistance to antimicrobial agents observed in this study. Therefore, milk can act as a very good source of antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus species posing a threat to consumers.
Guta
C
C
Department of Biology, University of Botswana, Gaborone.
Sebunya
T K
TK
Gashe
B A
BA
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification