Investigation of healthy horse eyes microbiota and evaluation of its
antimicrobial susceptibility
Abstract
Background: The conjunctiva of the eye is a mucosal surface that is
colonized by various bacteria. Following surgeries, trauma, or other
underlying conditions the normal flora of these bacteria may cause some
eye infections such as conjunctival, corneal infections, or
endophthalmitis. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the
bacterial population and antibiotic resistance of the conjunctiva in
healthy horses. Study design: Random sampling of ocular samples from 20
horse during the winter (2019). Methods: Swab samples were collected
from the eyes of 20 healthy horses of different breeds, ages, and sexes
in Tehran province, Iran. The swabs were cultured on blood agar and
MacConkey agar and incubated at 37°C for 24-48 hours. The isolated
bacteria were characterized using cellular morphology, gram-staining,
and biochemical tests. Sensitivity and resistance to 10 different
antibiotics were measured using an antibiogram test. Results: Results
showed that the bacterial population consisted of various species, with
Bacillus cereus being the most frequent. There were no significant
differences in the frequency of isolated bacteria between sexes and age
groups. There were no significant differences in the sensitivity of
bacterial flora of the eyes to Colistin, ceftiofur, florfenicol,
amoxicillin, and ampicillin between neither different age groups nor
different sexes of the horses (P>0.05). However,
sensitivity to enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was significantly
correlated with the age groups of the horses (P>0.05).
Significant difference in sensitivity to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
between various sexes of horses was observed. Main limitations: The
non-uniformity of the follow-up examination reliance owners or caregiver
of the horse for follow-up information and Lack of adequate financial
resources to study more horses. Conclusions: The study suggests that the
frequency of bacterial flora in horses’ eyes is influenced by housing
and management conditions rather than age and sex. Keywords: Microbial
flora, Conjunctiva, Eyes, Horse, Mucosal surface.