Abstract

The present study was an endeavor to isolate and identify the various bacteria localizing pneumonic lungs and the associated tracheas of sheep slaughtered at Addis Ababa Abattoirs Enterprise, Central Ethiopia, in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. A total of 60 pneumonic lungs and 60 tracheal swabs were examined bacteriologically. From all the samples collected, a total of 440 bacterial isolates (239 from the aerobic culture and 201 from the anaerobic culture) were obtained. The result of aerobic isolates include: Staphylococcus species (31.38%), Pasteurella hemolytica (29.71%), Bacillus species (10.04%), Bibersteinia trehalosi (6.69%), Micrococcus (3.77%), Escherichia coli (3.35%), Streptococcus species (2.51%), Rhodococcus equi (2.93%), Pseudomonas species (2.09%), Klebsiella pnuemonea (0.84%), Actinobacillus species and Bordetella species (1, 29%); whereas Staphylococcus species  (26.87%), P. hemolytica (37.81%), Bacillus species (3.98%), B. trehalosi (10.45%), Micrococcus (3.48), E. coli (6.97%), Streptococcus species (0.5%), Rhodococcus equi (0.5%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (2.99%) and Actinobacillus species (1.49%) were among anaerobic isolates. Thus, isolation of multiple bacterial species from the respiratory tracts of pneumonic sheep in this study signifies their possible role in the involvement of respiratory diseases. Appropriate prevention and control methods should be established along with identification of the most pathogenic species by future studies.

Key words: Bacteria, lung, pneumonia, sheep, trachea.