Comparison of antibiotic resistance exhibited by some gram-ve bacteria isolated from untreated and antibiotic treated bovine ejaculate

摘要

Artificial Insemination is an important technology worldwide for managed reproduction in farm animals. The international trade in bull semen is huge, with an estimated 243 million doses of semen produced annually (Thibier et al, 2000). The transmission of disease in semen is controlled through the European Commission Council Directive 88/407, amended in 2003 which describes the specific antibiotics and their minimum final concentration which must be added, prior to freezing, to control bacterial contaminants. This could lead to antibiotic resistance occurring in commensal bacteria and opportunistic pathogens found in the genital tract of cattle in response to this selection pressure (O'Brien 1997). This paper describes the bacterial profile of ejaculates collected from bulls standing in a cattle breeding centre, before and after processing. For some of the Gram -ve bacteria isolated and identified, their resistance to the antibiotics added routinely during semen processing was investigated.