Isolation and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Bacteria from Pinnipeds Stranded in Central and Northern California
Poster
Over a two year period (1994-95), a total of 129 bacterial isolates were recovered from three
species of stranded pinnipeds (Zalophus californianus, Mirounga angustirostris, Phoca vitulina) during
rehabilitation at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, CA. Nineteen different genera of bacteria were isolated from
various sites of inflammation, with abscesses and umbilici being the most common sites. Enterobacteriaceae (E.
coli, Proteus spp., Klebsiella spp., Salmonella spp.) accounted for 75% of the gram-negative
isolates. Among the gram-positive bacteria, Enterococcus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus accounted for
100% of the isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests revealed multiple drug resistance in all but one of the
bacterial isolates. The gram-positive bacteria were most susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (82% of 36
isolates) and least susceptible to chloramphenicol (20% of 20 isolates). The gram-negative bacteria were most
susceptible to amikacin (91% of 91 isolates) and least susceptible to clindamycin (3% of 109 isolates).
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