Comparative Herbal and Conventional Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Mammaliicoccus sciuri and M. lentus, Emerging Cause of Lethal Infections in Animals and Birds

Strains of Mammalicoccus species are often considered as contaminants or at the most opportunistic pathogens but rarely as cause of infections. This retrospective data analytical study was undertaken to understand the role of Mammalicoccus species strains in the causation disease in humans, animals and birds. The data for the 12 years retrieved from Clinical Epidemiology laboratory of the Institute was analyzed statistically for determining the association of mammaliicocci and their antimicrobial resistance. The study revealed that M. lentus and M. sciuri species strains may cause lethal septicemia (14), abscesses and wounds (14), eye and ear infections (4), mastitis (7), metritis (5), prostatitis (1), upper respiratory tract (4) and urinary tract infections (2). Mammaliicoccus species strains caused septicemia in buffaloes, cattle, dog, elephant, spotted deer, tigers, poultry, and hawk besides causing other ailments in buffaloes, cattle, dogs, goat, horses, and humans. Most of the Mammaliicoccus strains were susceptible to thyme oil (94.03%), carvacrol (88.06%), ajowan oil (85.07%), and common antimicrobials used therapeutically including linezolid (100%), imipenem (94.03%) and tigecycline (92.54). Many of the Mammalicoccus strains were resistant to methicillin (37.31%) and vancomycin (35.82 %), and 59.70% of the strains had multiple drug resistance (MDR). Strains isolated from heart blood of septicemic cases were significantly (p, <0.05) more resistant to ajowan oil, holy basil oil, cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, carbapenems, macrolides, cefalosporins, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin and cefotaxime and were more often resistant to multiple antibiotics (p, <0.01) than those associated with other infections. The Mammalicoccus strains of cattle origin were more often resistant (p, <0.05) to cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, cinnamon oil, and macrolides (erythromycin/ azithromycin) and had MDR than those isolated from buffaloes, humans, and dogs. However, ESBL production was more common (p, <0.02) in Mammalicoccus isolates infecting buffaloes than those infecting horses. The study concluded that Mammalicoccus strains may cause a variety of infections in humans, animals and birds and possess resistance to methicillin, vancomycin along many high-end antibiotics.