Molecular epidemiology and antibiotic susceptibility of livestock Brucella melitensis isolates from Naryn Oblast, Kyrgyzstan

The incidence of human brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan has been increasing in the last years and was identified as a priority disease needing most urgent control measures in the livestock population. The latest species identification of isolates in Kyrgyzstan was carried out in the 1960s and investigated the circulation of and However, supporting data and documentation of that experience are lacking. Therefore, typing of and identification of the most important host species are necessary for the understanding of the main transmission routes and to adopt an effective brucellosis control policy in Kyrgyzstan. Overall, 17 strains from aborted fetuses of sheep and cattle isolated in the province of Naryn were studied. All strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, gentamicin, rifampin, ofloxacin, streptomycin, doxycycline, and ciprofloxacin. Multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis showed low genetic diversity. Kyrgyz strains seem to be genetically associated with the Eastern Mediterranean group of the global phylogeny. We identified and confirmed transmission of to cattle and a close genetic relationship between strains isolated from sheep sharing the same pasture