Brucellosis is a widespread zoonotic illness, and it poses serious public health and economic risks. The purpose of this investigation is to look at the antimicrobial susceptibility of unpasteurized milk, blood, and lymph node specimens from cattle, goats, and sheep, as well as to identify virulence-associated genes. In this investigation, a total of 123 isolates were examined. The activity of 15 antimicrobials against Brucella pathogens were assessed using the Kirby−Bauer disk diffusion technique. Nine virulence factors were detected with polymerase chain reaction analysis. Five antibiotics were 100% effective against Brucella isolates. A high level of resistance (100%) was documented with streptomycin, penicillin, and seven more antibiotics. Doxycycline resistance was found in 12% of goat isolates, and tetracycline resistance was found in 21% and 44% of goat and sheep isolates, respectively. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index >0.2 was found in 38.2% (47/123) of Brucella isolates. VecC and BetB, two B. abortus genes, were confirmed to be comparable. The findings of this study suggests that Brucella spp. are reservoirs of antibiotic resistance in the Eastern Cape Province. As such, they represent a potential pool of antibiotic genes that might be transferred to other pathogens in the community, and thus continue to pose a healthcare hazard.
Keywords: Brucella; Brucella abortus; Brucella melitensis; brucellosis; multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR); prevalence; putative; virulence associated; zoonotic.