Frequency and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Coagulasenegative Staphylococci Isolated from Bovine Mastitis in Dairy Farms from Tolima, Colombia

Objective: To determine the antimicrobial presence and susceptibility of the coagulase-negative staphylococci group (ECN, for its initials in Spanish) in some cattle farms from Tolima, Colombia. Materials and methods: Using the California test for the diagnosis of mastitis (CMT, for its initials in Spanish), 484 quarters belonging to 121 cows from five small production ranches from a region of central Tolima were evaluated. CMT positive samples were cultivated for bacterial isolation. The ECN found were tested for susceptibility to the antibiotics. The results were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Results: 252 (52%) quarters did not show any type of reaction to the CMT, nor did they show any clinical signs of mastitis, therefore they were considered free of the disease. From the quarters, 73 (15%) turned positive for CMT and bacteriological culture. From these, 36 strains of ECN were isolated (7.4% of the total of quarters); S. aureus-ECP, 28 (5.8%); Streptococcus spp., 6 (1.2%).; Escherichia coli, 2 (0.4%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae, 2 (0.2%). The clinical and subclinical mastitis in the quarter occurred in 1.4% and 13.6%, respectively. In 5 (1.0%) of the quarters, clinical mastitis caused by ECN was found and subclinical mastitis in 31 (6.4%). 61% of the ECN strains were resistant to penicillin, and 58%, to tetracycline; 97% were sensitive to cefoperazone. Conclusion: The ECN group, considered a global emergent of mastitis, is evidenced with high frequency in ranches from Tolima, Colombia, causing clinical and subclinical mastitis with varied response to antimicrobials