Previous Article | Next Article 
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, December 2004, p. 4903-4906, Vol. 48, No. 12
0066-4804/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.48.12.4903-4906.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Bordetella bronchiseptica Isolates from Porcine Respiratory Tract Infections
Kristina Kadlec,1
Corinna Kehrenberg,1
Jürgen Wallmann,2 and
Stefan Schwarz1*
Institut
für Tierzucht, Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft
(FAL),
Neustadt-Mariensee,1
Bundesamt für
Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit (BVL),
Berlin, Germany2
Received 7 July 2004/
Returned for modification 6 August 2004/
Accepted 9 August 2004

ABSTRACT
MICs
for 349
Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates from respiratory
tract
infections of swine were determined by broth microdilution.
The
lowest MIC at which 90% of isolates tested are inhibited
(MIC
90)
was that of tetracycline and enrofloxacin (0.5
µg/ml),
whereas the highest MIC
90s were those of
tilmicosin and cephalothin
(32 µg/ml) as well as streptomycin
(256
µg/ml).

TEXT
Porcine respiratory diseases represent the leading cause of
mortality in
nursery and finishing units
(
12).
Bordetella
bronchiseptica is often involved in porcine respiratory tract
infections, along
with viruses and other bacteria
(
1). It has been shown
that
infections with
B. bronchiseptica predispose
pigs to secondary
infections with toxigenic strains of
Pasteurella multocida and
thus play an important role
in the pathogenesis of severe atrophic
rhinitis
(
1,
8). Various antimicrobial
agents are licensed and
used for the control of bacteria involved in
porcine respiratory
diseases and atrophic rhinitis, including
aminopenicillins,
cephalosporins, aminoglycosides,
tetracyclines, macrolides,
lincosamides alone or in combination with
spectinomycin, potentiated
sulfonamides, fluoroquinolones,
pleuromutilins, and florfenicol.
In contrast to well-studied pathogens
such as
P. multocida (for
a review see reference
5), comparatively little
is known about
the antimicrobial susceptibility of porcine
B.
bronchiseptica isolates
(
3,
5,
6,
9-
11,
14,
16,
20).
Between
2000 and 2003, 349 B. bronchiseptica isolates were
collected from cases of bronchopneumonia and/or atrophic rhinitis of
swine in Germany. This study includes 78 isolates from 2000, 98
isolates from 2001, 91 isolates from 2002, and 82 isolates from 2003.
All isolates were collected from diseased animals on the basis of one
isolate per herd. The animals had not been treated with antimicrobial
agents in the 3 weeks prior to sample collection. Samples included
nasal swabs sent to the diagnostic laboratories by veterinarians and
lung tissue obtained during postmortem inspections at diagnostic
laboratories. Microbiological sample processing and biochemical
confirmation of species assignment followed standard procedures
(7). All bacterial
isolates were investigated for their in vitro susceptibility to
antimicrobial agents by the microdilution broth method with microtiter
plates (Sensititre, Westlake, Ohio) that contained the antimicrobial
agents in serial twofold dilutions. The layouts of the microtiter
plates corresponded to those used in the German resistance monitoring
program for veterinary pathogens (GERM-VET). The antimicrobial agents
and concentrations tested are shown in Table
1. Performance and evaluation of the susceptibility tests followed the
recommendations given in document M31-A2 of the National Committee for
Clinical Laboratory Standards
(13). Specifically, an
inoculum that corresponded to a 0.5 McFarland standard was prepared in
cation-supplemented Mueller-Hinton broth and then further diluted to
yield a final concentration of 105 CFU/ml. After incubation
for 16 to 20 h at 35°C, the wells of the microtiter
plates were inspected macroscopically for growth. The reference strain
Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 served for quality control
purposes (13).
The
distribution of the MICs of the
B. bronchiseptica isolates
tested
in this study is shown in Table
1. A year-by-year
comparison
of the data obtained for each antimicrobial agent revealed
virtually
no variations in the MICs at which 50 and 90% of
isolates tested
are inhibited (MIC
50s and MIC
90s,
respectively) over the 4-year
period. The maximum difference seen was
two dilution steps in
the MIC
50s of cephalothin and
trimethoprim and in the MIC
90s
of
trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.
Using National Committee for
Clinical Laboratory Standards-approved B.
bronchiseptica-specific breakpoints for florfenicol
(susceptible,
2 µg/ml; intermediate, 4 µg/ml;
resistant,
8 µg/ml), 10 (2.9%) isolates were
classified as resistant and another 61 (17.5%) as intermediate.
This confirms the results of two florfenicol-specific monitoring
studies conducted in Germany in 2000 to 2001
(16) and 2002 to 2003
(4). The MICs of
chloramphenicol for all florfenicol-resistant strains were also high
(
128 µg/ml). A comparison of the MICs of ampicillin
and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid suggested that the presumable
ß-lactamases which may account for the high MICs of ampicillin
are susceptible to inhibition by clavulanic acid. Different
distributions of MICs were recorded for the three aminoglycoside
antibiotics gentamicin, neomycin, and streptomycin. While the MICs of
streptomycin for 336 (96.3%) of the isolates were
64
µg/ml, those of gentamicin ranged between 0.25 and 4
µg/ml, with the MICs for 343 (98.3%) isolates 1 or 2
µg/ml. In the case of neomycin, the MICs for 345 (98.9%)
isolates were 2 to 8 µg/ml, while distinctly higher MICs of 64
and 128 µg/ml were seen for single isolates. With tetracycline,
the MICs for 346 isolates were
2 µg/ml and that for
the remaining 3 isolates was 64 µg/ml. Although sulfonamides
were not included in the test panels, a comparison of the MICs of
trimethoprim and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole suggested that
sulfonamides had some effect against isolates for which MICs of
trimethoprim were elevated. The overall MICs of both cephalosporins
tested for the B. bronchiseptica isolates in this study were
high: ceftiofur, MIC90 of
16 µg/ml; and
cephalothin, MIC90 of 32 µg/ml. A similar situation
was seen with tilmicosin, with MIC50 and MIC90 of
16 and 32 µg/ml, respectively. In contrast, a low
MIC50 and MIC90 of 0.25 and 0.5 µg/ml,
respectively, were recorded for enrofloxacin.
Comparison of the
results of this study with those of other studies is often problematic
for several reasons: (i) different methodologies were used for
susceptibility testing, including agar dilution
(9,
10,
14,
17,
18), E-test
(17,
18), and disk diffusion
(6,
15,
19,
20); (ii) different
antimicrobial agents were tested
(6,
9,
10,
14); (iii) the evaluation
of the results followed different guidelines
(6,
9,
10,
14,
19); and/or (iv) isolates
from animals other than pigs were tested
(15,
17,
18). However, three
studies from the United States
(2,
3,
11) were suitable for
comparisons with our data. In the first study
(11), the range of MICs
as well as the MIC90s of various antimicrobial agents were
determined in 1988 for 48 porcine B. bronchiseptica isolates
collected in the United States. The results for ampicillin, gentamicin,
chloramphenicol, cephalothin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole
corresponded closely to those of the present study, whereas the values
for tetracycline were lower in the current study of German isolates
(11). The second study
described the in vitro susceptibility to tilmicosin of porcine
respiratory tract pathogens collected between 1994 and 1998 in the
United States (3). There
was a close similarity between their observed range and
MIC90 of tilmicosin and those found in the present study.
The third study dealt with the in vitro susceptibility of porcine
respiratory tract pathogens to ceftiofur and revealed that B.
bronchiseptica isolates are rather insensitive to ceftiofur; the
MICs for these isolates were
8 µg/ml
(2). This was in good
accordance with our observation that the ceftiofur MIC for 345
(98.9%) of the 349 B. bronchiseptica isolates was
8 µg/ml.
The classification of B.
bronchiseptica isolates as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant
based on the MIC data presents some problems. Interpretive criteria
that can be used explicitly for B. bronchiseptica are
currently only available for florfenicol, but not for the other
antimicrobial agents tested in this study. Nevertheless, the data
presented in this study allow a reliable estimate of the resistance
status of German B. bronchiseptica isolates from porcine
respiratory diseases based on testing a large number of isolates and
using internationally accepted methods. In addition to other data such
as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters or clinical efficacy,
the MIC data of this study may help to establish breakpoints for
antimicrobial agents for which no breakpoints approved for B.
bronchiseptica are currently available.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Kristina Kadlec is supported by a scholarship of
the H. Wilhelm
Schaumann foundation.
We thank Thomas R. Shryock
and the NCCLS Subcommittee on Veterinary Antimicrobial Susceptibility
Testing as well as Joseph W. Carnwath for helpful
discussions.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding
author. Mailing address: Institut für Tierzucht der
Bundesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft (FAL), Höltystr.
10, 31535 Neustadt-Mariensee, Germany. Phone: 49-5034-871-241. Fax:
49-5034-871-246. E-mail:
stefan.schwarz{at}fal.de.


REFERENCES
1 - Brockmeier,
S. L., P. G. Halbur, and E. L.
Thacker. 2002. Porcine respiratory disease complex, p.231
-258. In K. A.
Brogden and J. M. Guthmiller (ed.), Polymicrobial diseases.
American Society for Microbiology, Washington,
D.C.
2 - Burton,
P. J., C. Thornsberry, Y. C. Yee, J. L.
Watts, and R. J. Yancey, Jr. 1996.
Interpretive criteria for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of
ceftiofur against bacteria associated with swine respiratory disease.J. Vet. Diagn. Investig.
8:464-468.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
3 - DeRosa,
D. C., M. F. Veenhuizen, D. J. Bade, and
T. R. Shryock. 2000. In vitro susceptibility
of porcine respiratory pathogens to tilmicosin. J. Vet. Diagn.
Investig.
12:541-546.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
4 - Kehrenberg,
C., J. Mumme, J. Wallmann, J. Verspohl, R. Tegeler, T. Kühn, and
S. Schwarz. 2004. Monitoring of florfenicol
susceptibility among bovine and porcine respiratory tract pathogens
collected in Germany during the years 2002 and 2003. J.
Antimicrob. Chemother.
54:572-574.[Free Full Text]
5 - Kehrenberg,
C., G. Schulze-Tanzil, J.-L. Martel, E. Chaslus-Dancla, and S.
Schwarz. 2001. Antimicrobial resistance in
Pasteurella and Mannheimia: epidemiology and genetic
basis. Vet. Res.
32:323-340.[CrossRef][Medline]
6 - Köfer,
J., F. Hinterdorfer, and M. Awad-Masalmeh. 1992.
Vorkommen und Resistenz gegen Chemotherapeutika von lungenpathogenen
Bakterien aus Sektionsmaterial beim Schwein. Tierärztl.
Praxis
20:600-604.
7 - Koneman,
E. W., S. D. Allen, W. M. Janda,
P. C. Schreckenberger, and W. C. Winn, Jr.1997
. Color atlas and textbook of diagnostic microbiology,
5th ed. Lippincott, Philadelphia,
Pa.
8 - Magyar, T.,
and A. J. Lax. 2002. Atrophic rhinitis, p.169
-197. In K. A.
Brogden and J. M. Guthmiller (ed.), Polymicrobial diseases.
American Society for Microbiology, Washington,
D.C.
9 - Mengelers,
M. J. B., B. van Klingeren, and A.
S. J. P. A. M. van Miert.1989
. In vitro antimicrobial activity of sulfonamides
against some porcine pathogens. Am. J. Vet.
Res.
50:1022-1028.[Medline]
10 - Mengelers,
M. J. B., B. van Klingeren, and A.
S. J. P. A. M. van Miert.1990
. In vitro susceptibility of some porcine respiratory
tract pathogens to aditoprim, trimethoprim, sulfadimethoxine,
sulfamethoxazole, and combinations of these agents.Am. J. Vet. Res.
51:1860-1864.[Medline]
11 - Mortensen,
J. E., A. Brumbach, and T. R. Shryock.1989
. Antimicrobial susceptibility of Bordetella
avium and Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates.Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
33:771-772.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
12 - National
Animal Health Monitoring System. 1996. Swine '95:
grower/finisher. Part II. Reference of 1995 U.S. grower/finisher health
and management practices, p. 14-16.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins,
Colo.
13 - National
Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. 2002.
Performance standards for antimicrobial disk and dilution
susceptibility tests for bacteria isolated from animals. Approved
standard, 2nd ed. NCCLS document M31-A2. National Committee for
Clinical Laboratory Standards, Wayne,
Pa.
14 - Pijpers,
A., B. van Klingeren, E. J. Schoevers, J.
H. M. Verheijden, and A. S. J.
P. A. M. van Miert. 1989. In vitro activity
of five tetracyclines and some other antimicrobial agents against four
porcine respiratory tract pathogens. J. Vet. Pharmacol.
Ther.
12:267-276.[Medline]
15 - Prescott,
J. F., V. P. Gannon, G. Kittler, and G. Hlywka.1984
. Antimicrobial drug susceptibility of bacteria
isolated from disease processes in cattle, horses, dogs, and cats.Can. Vet. J.
25:289-292.
16 - Priebe,
S., and S. Schwarz. 2003. In vitro activities of
florfenicol against bovine and porcine respiratory tract pathogens.Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
47:2703-2705.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
17 - Speakman,
A. J., S. H. Binns, S. Dawson, C. A.
Hart, and R. M. Gaskell. 1997. Antimicrobial
susceptibility of Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates from cats
and a comparison of the agar dilution and E-test methods. Vet.
Microbiol.
54:63-72.[CrossRef][Medline]
18 - Speakman,
A. J., S. Dawson, J. E. Corkill, S. H.
Binns, C. A. Hart, and R. M. Gaskell.2000
. Antibiotic susceptibility of canine Bordetella
bronchiseptica isolates. Vet. Microbiol.
71:193-200.[CrossRef][Medline]
19 - von
Altrock, A. 1998. Untersuchungen zum Vorkommen
bakterieller Infektionserreger in pathologisch-anatomisch
veränderten Lungen von Schweinen und Zusammenstellung der
Resistenzspektren. Berl. Münch. Tierärztl.
Wochenschr.
111:164-172.[Medline]
20 - Wissing,
A., J. Nicolet, and P. Boerlin. 2001. Die aktuelle
antimikrobielle Resistenzsituation in der schweizerischen
Veterinärmedizin. Schweiz. Arch. Tierheilkd.
143:503-510.[Medline]
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, December 2004, p. 4903-4906, Vol. 48, No. 12
0066-4804/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.48.12.4903-4906.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Kadlec, K., Wiegand, I., Kehrenberg, C., Schwarz, S.
(2007). Studies on the mechanisms of {beta}-lactam resistance in Bordetella bronchiseptica. J Antimicrob Chemother
59: 396-402
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Kadlec, K., Kehrenberg, C., Schwarz, S.
(2007). Efflux-mediated resistance to florfenicol and/or chloramphenicol in Bordetella bronchiseptica: identification of a novel chloramphenicol exporter. J Antimicrob Chemother
59: 191-196
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Kadlec, K., Kehrenberg, C., Schwarz, S.
(2006). tet(A)-mediated tetracycline resistance in porcine Bordetella bronchiseptica isolates is based on plasmid-borne Tn1721 relics. J Antimicrob Chemother
58: 225-227
[Full Text]
-
Kadlec, K., Kehrenberg, C., Schwarz, S.
(2005). Molecular basis of resistance to trimethoprim, chloramphenicol and sulphonamides in Bordetella bronchiseptica. J Antimicrob Chemother
56: 485-490
[Abstract]
[Full Text]