Identification and characteristics of staphylococci isolated from lesions and normal skin of horses.

This study identified and analyzed different strains of Staphylococcus bacteria found in skin lesions and healthy skin of horses. It discovered that pathogenic bacteria species were mostly found in lesions while other species were common on healthy skin. The Staphylococcus aureus strains exhibited a diverse range and some unique traits.

Identification of Staphylococcus strains

• The study carried out the identification process on 128 strains of Staphylococcus, which were obtained primarily from horse skin lesions, and compared them with 29 strains isolated from healthy skin.
• The pathogenic species identified in the lesions were Staphylococcus aureus, S. intermedius, and S. hyicus. These species were found very scarcely, if at all, on the healthy skin. This information is highly suggestive that these species are more likely to cause or contribute to skin lesions in horses.

Distribution of species

• Conversely, other species such as S. xylosus and S. sciuri were found in higher numbers on the healthy skin than in the lesions, indicating that these species are typically associated with healthy horse skin and not pathogenic.
• Paying attention to the distribution and prevalence of these different Staphylococcus species both in diseased and normal skin of horses sheds light on their specific roles in horse skin health or disease conditions.

Characteristics of S. aureus strains

• The research also deeply examined the characteristics of the Staphylococcus aureus strains gathered from the lesions.
• These strains formed a highly diverse and heterogeneous collection, implying a wide variety in the characteristics, traits, and possibly pathogenicity of the S. aureus strains isolated from horse skin lesions.
• Many of these S. aureus strains were found to be staphylokinase positive and rapidly coagulated bovine plasma. These traits are infrequent in strains found in other animals or humans, indicating some level of uniqueness or specialized adaptation in the S. aureus strains found in horses.