GENOTYPING AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF CORYNEBACTERIUM PSEUDOTUBERCULOSIS STRAINS ISOLATED FROM CASEOUS LYMPHADENITIS IN SHEEP AND GOAT

A high level of genetic diversity was present in C. pseudotuberculosis strains in Duhok, Iraq. ERIC-PCR is a valuable technique for epidemiological studies. Strains of C. pseudotuberculosis from sheep were genetically diverse from that of goats. The ERIC PCR was used to fingerprint 22 strains of C. pseudotuberculosis obtained from mediastinal lymph nodes of probable caseous lymphadenitis infections in sheep and goats. Previously, conventional microbiological and molecular techniques were used to identify these isolates. Compared to rpoB gene sequencing, ERIC-PCR typing revealed that 22 strains of C. pseudotuberculosis were categorized into 13 ERIC types (genotypes). Genotypes 8, 9 and 12 signified the most predominant clones. The majority of sheep strains were more diverse than goat strains. The current study’s findings indicate that different C. pseudotuberculosis clones circulate in the Duhok abattoir and genotyping C. pseudotuberculosis strains using ERIC-PCR are essential for determining the evolutionary genetics of the species and for molecular epidemiology studies when compared to certain other molecular typing technique

Sero-prevalence of Chlamydophila abortus in goat farms in Duhok Province-Iraq

Chlamydophila abortus is still considered one of the most common causes of reproductive defeat in goats all over the world. In Duhok province, no data for the presence of Chla-mydophila abortus infection has been reported. This is a preliminary study on a seroprevalence of C. abortus antibodies by using ELISA test from goat’s flocks in Duhok province. Total of 92 female goats, that were ≥ 12 months old, were randomly selected from three flocks (Zakho, Amedy, and Summer districts) of 250 total animal populations in each flock in these three different districts in Duhok province from March to April 2013. From each individual animal, 5 ml of blood was collected from the jugular vein and put them in EDTA tubes for harvesting serum. Out of 92 dairy goats examined, 11.9% were seropositive for C. abortus antibodies. The highest percentage was reported to be in Summer district, then followed by Zakho district. The lowest rate was reported to be in Amedy district. The high percentage of seropositive goats found in this study reflect that this pathogen is highly available in this areas and need further researches to identify the pathogen on a wide country level on many animal species with excellent quality control programs to eradicate this pathogen

Multidrug-resistant and clonal dispersion of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli from ready-to-eat meat products in Duhok province, Iraq

This research evaluated the effluent proportion of E. coli and ETEC in RTE meat products, characterized the isolated strains' clonal relatedness, and determined their antibiotic resistance. 130 RTE products were gathered from various restaurants and street fast food vendors in Duhok and Zakho Province. The Isolates of E. coli identified by culture methods were confirmed as ETEC by multiplex PCR of the identified virulence genes. ERIC-PCR was applied to establish the clonal relationships between strains. The disk diffusion method performed the susceptibility of antibiotics on the isolated ETEC. Out of 130 examined samples, 39 (30%) isolates of E. coli and 16 (12.3%) ETEC were detected. Pan-fried burgers were revealed to be the most frequent contaminated sample type, with both E. coli and ETEC 50% and 23.3%, respectively (P≤0.05). A high clonal dispersion (12 genotypes) was observed among the isolated ETEC strains. A strong genetic linkage was discovered between a few isolates retrieved from the same sample type and within the strains from the same geographic source area. A high antibiotic resistance rate was observed with total resistance to Amoxicillin/clavulanate, Clarithromycin, Doxycycline, Erythromycin, and Clindamycin. Isolates from burger samples showed a higher resistance rate when compared with the other sample types (P≤0.05). Multi-drug resistance was noticed in all ETEC isolates. RTE meat products sold in our area have a high rate of clonally heterogeneous carrying multi-drug resistant ETEC and may constitute a significant public health risk