Enterococci of canine origin and their characteristics

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to study the prevalence of enterococci in the material isolated from healthy dogs and dogs with various infections and to determine properties of particular strains. Out of the total number of 1178 swab samples obtained from 444 dogs, 433 (36.7 %) of the specimens contained enterococci. The most frequently isolated species was Enterococcus (E) faecalis. Out of other species E. faecium, E. durans, E. hirae, E. casseliflavus, E. mundtii, E. columbae, E. solitarius, E. rafinosus and E. gallinarum were identified. Determination of biochemical properties of individual strains was based on conventional tests and EN-COCCUS tests and results were analyzed using the Identification program TNW lite 6.0 and identification schemes described in literature.