article · Microorganisms
Brucellosis is a contagious zoonotic disease that affects both livestock productivity and public health. An investigation into thirty-four suspected Brucella isolates recovered from cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats across nine districts in Egypt confirmed twenty-nine isolates using microbiological profiling, mass spectrometry, and polymerase chain reaction assays. The confirmed strains consisted of eight Brucella abortus biovar 1 and twenty-one Brucella melitensis biovar 3 isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed widespread resistance to several clinical drugs, notably ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, and rifampicin. Molecular analysis detected mutations in the rpoB gene across all phenotypically rifampicin-resistant isolates, as well as gyrA and gyrB mutations in four ciprofloxacin-resistant Brucella melitensis isolates. These results characterise the phenotypic resistance and underlying genetic mechanisms of Brucella strains circulating in Egyptian livestock.
Brucellosis poses severe threats to livestock productivity and can transmit directly to humans, causing chronic illness. The high prevalence of resistance to critical therapeutic drugs, including rifampicin and ciprofloxacin, complicates standard treatment regimens in both veterinary and human healthcare. Uncovering the genetic mechanisms driving this resistance provides essential baseline evidence for public health agencies and veterinarians to track and manage zoonotic disease spread.
This research represents early-stage epidemiological and molecular surveillance rather than a deployable technology. The identified gene mutations could inform developers of veterinary diagnostic assays seeking to design molecular tests that detect drug-resistant Brucella strains. Nevertheless, the abstract focuses entirely on isolate characterisation and does not indicate a direct commercialisation pathway.
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Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis worldwide with economic and public health impacts. The aim of the present study was to identify <i>Brucella</i> (<i>B</i>.) spp. isolated from animal populations located in different districts of Egypt and to determine their antimicrobial resistance. In total, 34-suspected <i>Brucella</i> isolates were recovered from lymph nodes, milk, and fetal abomasal contents of infected cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats from nine districts in Egypt. The isolates were identified by microbiological methods and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Differentiation and genotyping were confirmed using multiplex PCR for <i>B. abortus</i>, <i>Brucella melitensis</i>, <i>Brucella ovis</i>, and <i>Brucella suis</i> (AMOS) and Bruce-ladder PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing against clinically used antimicrobial agents (chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, imipenem, rifampicin, streptomycin, and tetracycline) was performed using E-Test. The antimicrobial resistance-associated genes and mutations in <i>Brucella</i> isolates were confirmed using molecular tools. In total, 29 <i>Brucella</i> isolates (eight <i>B. abortus</i> biovar 1 and 21 <i>B. melitensis</i> biovar 3) were identified and typed. The resistance of <i>B. melitensis</i> to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, rifampicin, and streptomycin were 76.2%, 19.0%, 76.2%, 66.7%, and 4.8%, respectively. Whereas, 25.0%, 87.5%, 25.0%, and 37.5% of <i>B. abortus</i> were resistant to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, imipenem, and rifampicin, respectively. Mutations in the <i>rpo</i>B gene associated with rifampicin resistance were identified in all phenotypically resistant isolates. Mutations in <i>gyr</i>A and <i>gyr</i>B genes associated with ciprofloxacin resistance were identified in four phenotypically resistant isolates of <i>B. melitensis</i>. This is the first study highlighting the antimicrobial resistance in <i>Brucella</i> isolated from different animal species in Egypt. Mutations detected in genes associated with antimicrobial resistance unravel the molecular mechanisms of resistance in <i>Brucella</i> isolates from Egypt. The mutations in the <i>rpo</i>B gene in phenotypically resistant <i>B. abortus</i> isolates in this study were reported for the first time in Egypt.
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DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7120603
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