Characterization of Isolated from Sows Presenting Purulent Vulvar Discharge.

Purulent vulvar discharge is a clinical sign of genitourinary tract infections, which are a significant concern in swine facilities, leading to sow culling and mortality. is one of the main agents involved in these diseases. This study aimed to characterize the virulence and antimicrobial resistance profiles as well as the phylotype of strains isolated from sows with purulent vulvar discharge. The results showed that at least 2 of the 29 tested virulence genes related to extraintestinal pathogenic were present in all strains tested. The most frequent gene was , present in all strains, followed by the genes , , , and . Associations between iron uptake genes, genes related to adhesion, attachment, and serum resistance, as well as genes related to toxin release and bacteriocin, were frequent. The most prevalent phylotype was B1 (40.0%), followed by A (18.5%), D (11.9%), C (9.6%), B2 (7.4%), E (4.4%), F (1.5%), and Clade I (0.7%), with B2 being related to highly virulent traits. The strains presented elevated resistance to antimicrobials such as ciprofloxacin, streptomycin, cephalexin, florfenicol, and ampicillin. More than 90% of the strains were identified as multidrug-resistant, indicating the selection that is induced by the high use of antimicrobials in swine farming.