ABSTRACT
Veterinary hospitals house patient populations with diverse infectious statuses, microbiota, and histories of prior antibiotic therapy. Choanal swabs are commonly used for assessing the upper respiratory tract of birds for bacterial disease, with the samples submitted for cytologic testing and/or culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing. The aim of this retrospective study was to identify and quantify bacteria isolated from choanal swabs collected from psittacine patients at a veterinary teaching hospital in Mexico City, Mexico. Data regarding bacterial isolates from choanal swabs were obtained from the medical records of companion psittacines suspected of upper respiratory bacterial disease that presented between November 2015 and December 2022. A total of 47.8% (175 of 366) of the bacterial isolates were from specimens obtained from red-lored Amazons (Amazona autumnalis). Gram-negative bacteria predominated, with 27 different genera identified. Klebsiella, Staphylococcus, and Escherichia were the most frequently isolated genera. A total of 90.4% (331 of 366) of the isolates were resistant to at least 1 antibiotic tested in the sensitivity panel, and a single Klebsiella isolate was resistant to 13 different antibiotics. Gentamicin had a high percentage of efficacy (79.5%; 182 of 229) against the bacterial isolates, whereas isolates tested against sulfonamide-trimethoprim (46.7%, 98 of 210), streptomycin (43.8%; 88 of 201), and clindamycin (12.9%; 15 of 116) had susceptibilities <50%. This is the first study to report common bacterial isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns from choanal swab samples collected from companion psittacines suspected of upper respiratory disease in Mexico. Clinicians can use the information presented in this study as a guide for therapeutic decision-making when managing upper respiratory bacterial infections in companion psittacine patients.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents , Bird Diseases , Hospitals, Animal , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Psittaciformes , Retrospective Studies , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Bird Diseases/microbiology , Bird Diseases/drug therapy , Microbial Sensitivity Tests/veterinary , Drug Resistance, Bacterial , Mexico , Bacteria/drug effects , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Bacteria/classificationABSTRACT
The aims of the present study were to establish an adequate excystment method for metacercariae of Paramphistomum spp. and to compare the in vitro survival of paramphistomids in three different culture media. In a preliminary study, 31 different assays were performed solely with the purpose of obtaining the best percentage of metacercariae excystment. Once the best excystment method was selected, 21 further assays using 100 metacercariae/assay were carried out to determine the average percentage of excystment. For the in vitro culture of paramphistomids, the Hedon-Fleig, Rohrbacher, and RPMI-1640 culture media were compared by using 24-well immunoplates containing newly excysted flukes or 50-ml capacity tissue-culture flasks for adult paramphistomids. Results indicated an average of 69.0% excystment, the best culture medium to support the survival of immature and adult stages of the trematode being Hedon-Fleig and Rohrbacher, respectively. The best percentage of survival obtained was on day 4 (80%), with some immature and adult trematodes remaining alive until days 10 and 11, respectively.
