The Aerobic Bacterial Flora Of The Nasal Cavity In Healthy Anatolian Water Buffalo Calves

Nasal swab samples from clinically healthy Anatolian water buffalo calves, breeding in Afyonkarahisar province of Turkey, were collected to determine the bacterial microflora of their nasal mucosa. A total of 160 samples were examined and 165 bacterial isolates were identified by using standard microbiological and biochemical methods. Ninety-seven isolates were detected to Gram positive bacteria (58.8%) and 68 isolates to Gram negative bacteria (41.2%). Ten bacterial genera including Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Corynebacterium, Arcanobacterium, Bacillus, Escherichia, Neisseria, Moraxella, Pasteurella and Mannheimia were isolated. Staphylococcus epidermidis (48.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (33.8%), Mannheimia haemolytica (25.0%) and Pasteurella multocida (17.5%) were determined as the most frequently isolated species from the animals sampled. Also, the isolation rates of S. epidermidis, S. aureus, M. haemolytica and P. multocida among the 165 bacterial isolates recovered from samples were 23.6%, 16.3%, 12.1% and 8.4% respectively.