Clinico-therapeutic studies on bacterial infections of respiratory tract in bovines

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to know the bacterial etiology, antibiogram and to evaluate efficacy of two antibiotics namely enrofloxacin (Gyroflox) at 5 mglkg body weight intramuscular once daily for 3 to 5 days and florfenicol (Nuflor®) at 20 mg/kg body weight, deep intramuscular two doses at 48 h interval in the treatment of bovine respiratory tract infection. The animals in the experimental groups were categorized according to a clinical illness index score system. Clinical data and haematological parameters of diseased animals showed significant difference with regard to temperature, respiratory rate, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, packed cell volume, haemoglobin and total erythrocyte count. No significant difference was noted in the values of erythrocyte indices and leukogram. Bacteria isolated from the respiratory tract of diseased bovines were Staphylococcus aureus (6), Staphylococcus epidermidis (5), Streptococcus pyogenes (8), Escherichia coli (7), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4), Mannheimia haemolytica (3) and Proteus vulgaris (1). Out of the 39 bacterial isolates 19 (48.71 per cent) were Gram positive and 20 (51.29 per cent) were Gram negative. Single bacteria could be isolated only from 2 cases (11.11 per cent). Mixed bacteria were isolated from 16 cases (88.88 per cent). Antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates showed maximum sensitivity to enrofloxacin (94.87 per cent) followed by ciprofloxacin (87.18 per cent), chloramphenicol (76.92 per cent), gentamicin (64.10 per cent), oxytetracycline (53.85 per cent), amoxycillin (51.28 per cent), streptomycin (35.90 per cent) and trimethoprim (28.21 per cent). Recovery of the animals in both groups was assessed on the basis of statistically significant reduction in pyrexia, respiratory rate and overall improvement of clinical signs and illness index score. Recovered animals recorded a significant difference in the ESR and pev from diseased animals in both the groups. No significant difference was noted in the temperature, respiratory rate, haematological parameters between the two post-treatment groups. Efficacy of both enrofloxacin and florfenicol was comparable in counteracting bacterial bovine respiratory tract infection.