Minimum inhibitory concentrations of selected antimicrobial agents for Moraxella bovoculi associated with infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) has been associated with ocular infections by Moraxella bovis, the established etiologic agent of IBK, and more recently, Moraxella bovoculi, a recently described species of Moraxella. To assist in designing rational treatment regimens for M. bovoculi infections associated with IBK, the in vitro susceptibilities of 57 M. bovoculi field isolates cultured from eyes of cattle with IBK in California from 2002 through 2007 were determined. The minimum inhibitory concentration required to inhibit the growth of 90% of organisms (MIC(90)) of the following 18 antibiotics tested in the present study were: danofloxacin and enrofloxacin: <= 0.12 mu g/ml; ampicillin and ceftiofur: <= 0.25 mu g/ml; penicillin: 0.25 mu g/ml; gentamicin: <= 1 mu g/ml; chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, and tiamulin: 1 mu g/ml; florfenicol: 0.5 mu g/ml; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole: <= 2/38 mu g/ml; clindamycin: 2 mu g/ml; neomycin and tilmicosin: <= 4 mu g/ml; tulathromycin: 4 mu g/ml; spectinomycin and tylosin: 16 mu g/ml; and sulfadimethoxine: >256 mu g/ml. The low MIC(90) of these M. bovoculi isolates suggests that commonly used antibiotics for treatment of IBK associated with M. bovis should also be effective against M. bovoculi.