article · South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology
Livestock can serve as reservoirs for bacteria carrying critical antibiotic-resistance determinants. In a four-month investigation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, 422 swabs were taken from the ears, fur, noses and mouths of cows, rams, sheep and goats. Microbiological analysis recovered 94 coagulase-negative isolates belonging to the genera Enterococcus, Mammaliicoccus, Staphylococcus and Micrococcus, with Mammaliicoccus sciuri identified as the most frequent species. Disc diffusion testing showed that the majority of isolates were resistant to several antibiotics, including various beta-lactams and macrolides. Subsequent molecular screening of 15 representative isolates identified key resistance elements, notably SCCmec in nine isolates, ermA in six, ermC in three and mecA in one. These findings demonstrate that livestock in the region host multidrug-resistant staphylococcal relatives carrying transmissible resistance markers.
The spread of antimicrobial resistance complicates the treatment of common bacterial infections in both veterinary and human medicine. By identifying multidrug-resistant bacteria and mobile genetic resistance markers in domestic livestock, this work highlights pathways through which farm animals can maintain and spread genes that render critical antibiotics ineffective.
This is early-stage surveillance research that informs veterinary public health monitoring and diagnostic needs rather than offering an immediate product. Veterinary diagnostics developers, livestock managers and public health agencies could use these surveillance data to design targeted resistance screening panels for farm animals, but the abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway.
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Coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) are important reservoirs of antibiotic-resistance genes and associated mobile genetic elements, with potential relevance to the emergence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcal clones. This study determined antibiotic resistance and molecular resistance markers among coagulase-negative Staphylococcus isolates from livestock in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. During a four-month study, 422 samples were collected from the ears, fur, noses and mouths of rams, goats, cows and sheep and processed using standard microbiological methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion against oxacillin, cefoxitin, erythromycin, gentamicin, clindamycin, amoxicillin, vancomycin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and cefuroxime. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect mecA, ermA, ermC and SCCmec. Ninety-four coagulase-negative isolates were recovered from the sampled anatomical sites and animal species, and the majority showed resistance to several antimicrobial agents tested. Four genera, Enterococcus, Mammaliicoccus, Staphylococcus and Micrococcus, were identified. Mammaliicoccus (Staphylococcus) sciuri was the most frequent, whereas Enterococcus gallinarum, Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus aloeverae were evenly represented. Of 15 representative isolates analysed by PCR, 11 harboured one or more resistance markers: six carried ermA, three ermC, one mecA and nine SCCmec. The detection of these resistance markers, together with multidrug-resistant Mammaliicoccus (Staphylococcus) sciuri, indicates that livestock in the study area may harbour coagulase-negative Staphylococci with antimicrobial-resistance determinants of veterinary and public health relevance.
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DOI: 10.9734/sajrm/2026/v20i8521
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