Molecular Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Resistance of Outbreaks of Klebsiella pneumoniae Clinical Mastitis in Chinese Dairy Farms
Shaodong Fu, Chen Wen, Zhenglei Wang, Yawei Qiu, Yihao Zhang, Jiakun Zuo, Yuanyuan Xu, Xiangan Han, Zhenhua Luo, Wei Chen, Jinfeng Miao
Abstract
is ubiquitous in nature and infects a wide range of hosts, including animals, and humans. It is one of the leading inducements of clinical mastitis (CM) in dairy cows, a prevalent and costly disease that is predominantly associated with bacterial infection. In general, CM caused by Gram-negative bacteria is more difficult to cure than that associated with Gram-positive pathogens, with an average cost per case of 211.03 U.S. dollars (USD) for Gram-negative bacterial infections compared with 133.73 USD for Gram-positive bacterial CM cases. After Escherichia coli, K. pneumoniae is the second most common Gram-negative cause of bovine CM, but it is the most detrimental in terms of decreased milk yield, discarded milk, treatment costs, death, and culling. In view of the economic implications of K. pneumoniae infection in dairy farming, research into population structure and antibiotic resistance is particularly important.