Antimicrobial susceptibility and PFGE genotyping of Haemophilus parasuis isolates from pigs in South China (2008-2010).

H. parasuis isolates (n=112) from pigs were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility against 23 antimicrobial agents by the disk diffusion method. All isolates were sensitive to Florfenico and most strains were sensitive to Cefotaxime (103/112; 92%), Ceftazidime (99/112; 88.4%), Chloramphenicol (90/112; 80.4%) and Gentamicin (85/112; 75.9%). High resistance levels to Nalidixic acid (84.8%), TMP (67.9%) and Trimethoprim+Sulfamethoxazole (58%) were observed. Genomic DNA extracted from 52 isolates resistant to at least seven antimicrobial agents was analyzed by PFGE and 46 distinct PFGE patterns identified. Diverse variation was observed between the drug-resistant H. parasuis isolates examined, suggesting that resistance traits were acquired independently by the respective isolates.