INCIDENCE OF CUTANEOUS Staphylococcus species IN EXTENSIVELY RAISED SWINE

The commensal/opportunistic bacteriome in various animal species includes potentially pathogenic S. aureus. Widespread in humans, on the skin or mucosae, it induces a highly variable pathology, depending on its toxins and virulence, on the host and also on the environment. Much less is known about other staphylococci and their involvement in swine pathology. This research envisaged the incidence of Staphylococcus spp., in samples collected from extensively raised clinically healthy pigs, of the same age, during the period 2019-2020. The samples (n=49) were provided from farms of different sizes and in different years. Cotton swabs were used to sample secretions from anterior nares of individual pigs, and from the skin behind the ears of the animals. Classical microbiology methods were used to isolate Staphylococcus spp. and the isolates were identified using biochemical tests (API Staph, BioMerieux). Forty species of Staphylococcus were identified: Staphylococcus xylosus (47,5%), Staphylococcus lentus (30%), and Staphylococcus sciuri (22,5%). These bacterias seemed often present as a commensal animal-associated bacteria, but în some cases they could become pathologic în some diseases like bovine mastitis, and exudative epidermitis. Key words: swine, extensive raising, skin, staphylococci, pathogenicity