Isolation and Identification of Aerobic Bacteria from the Dental Region of Managed Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus)

Aims: This study aimed to isolate and identify aerobic bacteria from dental swab samples collected from Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) managed at different Tiger Reserves in central India. Study Design: Observational microbiological investigation involving dental examination, bacterial culture, Gram staining, and automated bacterial identification. Place and Duration of Study: Samples were collected from elephants managed at Pench, Bandhavgarh, Kanha, and Satpura Tiger Reserves and privately managed elephants in central India. Laboratory investigations were conducted at the School of Wildlife Forensic and Health, Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur, from July 2023 to January 2024. Methodology: Thirty Asian elephants were included in the study. Dental swab samples were cultured in brain heart infusion broth and subsequently inoculated onto nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, and brain heart infusion agar supplemented with 5% blood. Following incubation at 37°C for 18–24 hours, bacterial colonies were examined, subjected to Gram staining, and identified using the BD Phoenix M50 automated identification system. Results: Fourteen bacterial taxa were identified: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Rothia mucilaginosa, Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus mutans. Klebsiella pneumoniae had the highest reported isolation frequency (45.45%), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18.18%) and Enterobacter cloacae (13.63%). Conclusion: The study documents a range of aerobic bacteria in dental swab samples from managed Asian elephants in Madhya Pradesh. These findings provide preliminary information on the dental bacterial flora of this species and support further investigations linking microbiological findings with oral health, clinical examination, and molecular identification.