Abstract:
Calf diarrhea is a major economic concern in bovine industry all around the world. Thus, this study was conducted to Isolation, Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Salmonella Isolates from Diarrheic Calves in Bahir Dar City Dairy Farms. A cross-sectional study was conducted in dairy farms in Bahir Dar city from November 2018- May 2019 with a purposive sampling method the objective of isolating and identifying Salmonella isolates from diarrheic calves. Potential risk factors associated with calf diarrhea and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of few selected antibiotics were also performed. Fecal samples were directly collected from the rectum of diarrheic calves in order to identify Salmonella based on their cultural and biochemical characteristics. A total of 105 fecal samples were examined for the isolation of Salmonella, of which 12 (11.42%) were positive. Calves age (OR=0.28, P=0.028), body condition (OR=0.30, P=0.034), farm size (OR=0.27, P=0.047), calves kept in their pens with frequency of change of bedding material (OR=10, P=0.01), educational status of calves taker (OR=7.07, P=0.008), time of first colostrum feeding (OR=24, P=0.006), daily milk replacer given (OR=0.12, P=0.02) and feeding up to weaning (OR=0.13 ,P=0.01) were closely linked with Salmonella infection. Amongst all the antibiotics that were tested, Salmonella was found to be susceptible to ciprofloxacin, chloramphinicol and tetracycline (100%, 83.3%, and 75%) respectively whereas all the isolates showed resistance (100%) to ampicillin, cefoxitin and sulfonamides. In conclusion, Salmonella could be considered as a potential causative agent of diarrhea in calves. Therefore, improved management practices and appropriate antibiotic treatment of diarrheic calves should be employed to prevent the spread of Salmonella infection in healthy animals.
Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility; Bahir Dar city; diarrheic calves; Risk factors