Phenotypic and molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant mastitis causing pathogens in dairy cattle

This study focused on isolating antibiotic-resistant mastitogens from cow milk; 57% of 100 samples tested positive by California mastitis test. Bacterial species from each milk sample were isolated and identified using Vitek® 2 automated system. Out of the 167 bacterial strains isolated, 14 were multidrug-resistant (MDR) and were further identified as belonging to <i>Staphylococcus</i> spp. <i>Enterobacter</i> spp. <i>Morganella</i> spp. and <i>Elizabethkingia</i> spp. Staphylococcus strains showed the highest resistance by phenotypic and genotypic screening, with 8% of mastitis isolates identified as MDR. These MDR bacterial strains were also found to harbour antibiotic resistance genes such as mecA (21%), blaZ (43%), gyrA (50%), and gyrB (59%). The tissue culture plate assay showed 11 multidrug-resistant bacteria as strong biofilm formers and the biofilm-related atlE gene was analysed from Staphylococcal strain M33.1. The findings highlight a public health risk from resistant dairy bacteria, emphasizing prophylactic measures and responsible antimicrobial use to prevent zoonotic transmission.