Bacterial stomatitis in wild-caught reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus)

Ho, Shao Jian (2020) Bacterial stomatitis in wild-caught reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus). [Project Paper] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Bacterial stomatitis is considered as the most common clinical form of upper alimentary tract disease in reptiles. This study aimed to isolate and identify the common aerobes in the oral cavities of wild-caught reticulated pythons presented with or without stomatitis and to profile their antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of N=40 carcasses of the wild-caught reticulated pythons were assessed for the presence or absence of stomatitis. Oral swabs were obtained and cultured onto blood and MacConkey agar. The colony and cellular morphologies of the isolates were evaluated, followed by biochemical tests such as catalase and oxidase tests for species identification. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on the identified isolates using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against gentamicin, amoxicillin, cephalexin, azithromycin, tetracycline, and ciprofloxacin. This study discovered that the prevalence of stomatitis was 77.5% (31/40). The occurrence of stomatitis was significantly (p < 0.05) different between the male and female pythons. A total of 153 isolates were identified, with gram-negative bacteria being predominant. The most isolated bacterial species was Aeromonas sp. (14.4%; 22/153), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (11.8%; 18/153), and Alcaligenes faecalis (8.5%; 13/153). Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (4.6%; 7/153) and Corynebacterium sp. (0.7%; 1/153) were the only gram-positive aerobes isolated. Most of the isolates were equally susceptible to gentamicin and ciprofloxacin (95.8%) and highly resistant to amoxicillin (83.3%) and cephalexin (75.0%). In conclusion, bacterial stomatitis in wild-caught reticulated pythons is highly prevalent with commonly a mixed bacterial isolation, and gentamicin as well as ciprofloxacin should be considered as the primary line of antibiotics in the treatment of this disease.

Item Type:	Project Paper
Faculty:	Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Depositing User:	Ms. Nordeena Abdul Aziz
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2023 04:04
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2023 04:04
URI:	http://psaspb.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/1503

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