Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Klebsiella Pneumoniea isolated from cases of bovine mastitis in Maya City, Eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2023 to May 2024 on lactating dairy cows in Maya city, in the eastern part of Ethiopia, with the aim of estimating mastitis prevalence, isolate Klebsiella pneumoniea and determine antibiotic resistance profiles of the isolates. A total of 281 animals were selected for screening of mastitis. The city was selected purposively, while kebeles, households/dairy farms, and dairy cows were chosen by the simple random sampling method. The California mastitis test (CMT) was used to screen for subclinical mastitis. Milk samples from CMT-positive and clinical mastitis cases were aseptically collected and used to isolate and identify K. pneumoniea, a common cause of mastitis. The isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using the disk diffusion method against 7 selected drugs. The overall mastitis prevalence at the cow and quarter levels was 48.4% and 28.11%, respectively, while the isolation rate of K. pneumoniea was 11.7% and 12.6%, respectively. Potential risk factors like parity, house floor, and previous history of mastitis were associated with prevalence of mastitis. Additionally, parity, management system, and teat lesion risk factor were statistically associated with isolates of K. pneumoniea. The K. pneumoniea isolates showed 100% susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, 60% to chloramphenicol, and 29% to cephalothin. In contrast, the highest (100%) resistance was observed for amoxicillin, ampicillin, and ceftriaxone, followed by 60% for vancomycin. In conclusion, the study indicated an increase in prevalence of mastitis, with K.pneumonia isolates showing high resistance to the commonly used antibiotics. Routine mastitis control measures combined with antimicrobial therapy guided by culture and susceptibility testing are recommended to reduce mastitis prevalence and limit antimicrobial resistance.