Antibiotic resistance profiles of oral flora in hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius): implications for treatment of human bite wound infections
Name of Faculty: Veterinary Science
Name of department: Veterinary Tropical Diseases
First author of the paper: Professor Anita Michel
Authors: Maralize Engelbrecht, Francois Roux2 Jeanette Wentzel and Annelize Jonker
Email address:
Name of submitter: Professor Karen Keddy
Capacity of submitter: Head of Department: Veterinary Tropical Diseases
Email address of submitter:
Submitting authority: Faculty of Veterinary Science
Short description of the research: The common hippopotamus (
Hippopotamus amphibius
) which occurs in rivers, lakes and wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa, is known for its aggressive behaviour when defending its territory. This leads to numerous attacks on people close to water often leading to life-threatening injuries and severe wound infections. Our study investigated the bacterial spectrum common to the oral cavity of the hippopotamus and the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of those bacteria as this is of crucial importance to the effective treatment of bite wound infections caused by hippopotami. The findings showed that the bacteria usually residing in the hippopotamus' mouth are aquatic bacteria with a high level of antibiotic resistance to several antibiotic drugs which are commonly used to treat bite wound patients. This study highlights the need for revised, more effective treatment protocols that take into consideration the antibiotic susceptibility profiles reported in this paper.
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