Identification, Serotyping and Antimicrobial Resistance in Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale Isolates from Turkeys in Poland Between 2016 and 2022

Respiratory diseases in poultry caused by <i>Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale</i> represent a significant challenge from both therapeutic and economic perspectives. Treatment of them, which uses antimicrobial agents, improperly contributes to the emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant strains within avian populations. The present study, based on <i>O. rhinotracheale</i> isolates (<i>n</i> = 733) obtained from the respiratory tract, joints, and organs of turkeys in Poland between 2016 and 2022, was conducted to assess the antimicrobial resistance of the strains and identify their serotypes. All <i>O. rhinotracheale</i> isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk-diffusion method. The results of this study indicated that amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, doxycycline, florfenicol, and lincomycin/spectinomycin were the most effective agents against the isolates from turkeys. The findings showed that serotype I was the most prevalent among the tested turkey strains in Poland and was the serotype to which 29% of the <i>O. rhinotracheale</i> isolates affiliated.