Antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus agalactiae from cows with mastitis

The aim of this study was to characterise the phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic resistance patterns of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from cows with mastitis in China. Antibiotic resistance was based on minimum inhibitory concentrations and detection of resistance genes by PCR. S. agalactiae isolates most frequently exhibited phenotypic resistance to tetracycline, while the resistance genes most frequently detected were ermB, tetL and tetM. Resistance genes were detected in some susceptible isolates, whereas no resistance genes could be detected in some resistant isolates, indicating that the resistance genotype does not accurately predict phenotypic resistance.