Therapeutic management of bacterial dermatitis in captive Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)

Abstract

A study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of bacterial dermatitis in captive Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) of Assam. Staphylococcus spp. was the predominant causative organism. Coagulase positive (S. aureus and S. intermedius) and coagulase negative (S. hyicus, S. choromogenes, S. caseolyticus and S. saprophyticus) bacteria were detected from the skin lesions. Antibiotic sensitivity test for bacterial isolates showed the highest sensitivity to Ceftriaxone/Tazobactum followed by Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid, Ceftriaxone/Sulbactum, Enrofloxacin and Mupirocin respectively. Among these, Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid and Mupirocin showed significant efficacy during the treatment process.