Abstract
Camels are the most valuable livestock species in the Horn of Africa and play a pivotal role in the nutritional sustainability for millions of people. Their health status is therefore of utmost importance for the people living in this region. Streptococcus agalactiae, a Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is an important camel pathogen. Here we present the first epidemiological study based on genetic and phenotypic data from African camel derived GBS. Ninety-two GBS were characterized using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), capsular polysaccharide typing and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We analysed the GBS using Bayesian linkage, phylogenetic and minimum spanning tree analyses and compared them with human GBS from East Africa in order to investigate the level of genetic exchange between GBS populations in the region. Camel GBS sequence types (STs) were distinct from other STs reported so far. We mapped specific STs and capsular types to major disease complexes caused by GBS. Widespread resistance (34%) to tetracycline was associated with acquisition of the tetM gene that is carried on a Tn916-like element, and observed primarily among GBS isolated from mastitis. The presence of tetM within different MLST clades suggests acquisition on multiple occasions. Wound infections and mastitis in camels associated with GBS are widespread and should ideally be treated with antimicrobials other than tetracycline in East Africa.
Highlights
In many semiarid and arid regions of the Horn of Africa, camel keeping is the most sustainable livestock enterprise
In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of camel Group B Streptococcus (GBS) The susceptibility profiles for 90 out of 92 camel GBS isolates against 23 antimicrobials are presented in Table 1 and Additional file 2
Our findings show that mastitis in camels caused by GBS should be treated with antimicrobials other than tetracycline to prevent the further spread of tetracycline resistant clones
Summary
In many semiarid and arid regions of the Horn of Africa, camel keeping is the most sustainable livestock enterprise. Due to climate change and desertification, cattle numbers are decreasing in such regions while camel numbers are increasing and are likely to play an even more significant role for human nutrition in the future [1]. People live in very close contacts with their animals and camel milk is Streptococcus agalactiae, a Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important pathogen affecting humans and livestock species such as cattle. This pathogen has been isolated from both healthy and diseased camels from the Horn of Africa [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Data on antimicrobial susceptibility in camel GBS in Africa is scanty at best, with only few antibiotics tested on a limited number of samples [5]
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