This study examined 206 cervical and uterine swabs collected from infected mares from herds in the Minas Gerais State, Brazil, from 1986 to 1996. Amongst 164 successful isolations, 25.7% were identified as Streptococcus equi, subsp. zooepidemicus, and 15.1% as Escherichia coli, both considered the most important isolates. Other bacteria found included Staphylococcus aureus (9.2%), Streptococcus alpha-hemolytic (9.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.9%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus (6.3%), Bacillus spp. (1.9%), Rhodococcus equi (3.4%) and Proteus mirabilis (1.5%). The antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed amikacin and gentamicin (70.2%), ampicillin and chloramphenicol (59.5%) as the most effective in vitro antibiotics against these microorganisms.
Mare; endometritis; antibiotic