Abstract
The present study investigated the colonization rates and antimicrobial susceptibility of Staphylococcus species isolated from the nostrils of healthy horses. A nonselective laboratory approach was applied, followed by confirmation using a Phoenix automated microbiological system. Among the 92 horses included in the study, 48.9% (45/92) carried Staphylococcus species of mostly the coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) type yielding 70 Staphylococcus strains. Of these strains, 37.1% (26/70; 24 CoNS and 2 coagulasepositive staphylococci; CoPS) were identified as methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) expressing significant resistance to important antimicrobial classes represented mainly by subspecies of CoNS. This is the first study reporting a high prevalence of various Staphylococcus species, particularly strains of CoNS expressing multidrug resistance patterns of public health concern, colonizing healthy horses in Libya. Key words: antimicrobial resistance, coagulase-negative staphylococci, healthy horse, nasal colonization, Libya