Occurrence of Serratia marcescens in bovine intramammary infections: identification and antimicrobial susceptibility in a dairy herd

Małgorzata Targońska-Karasek; Wojciech Ospałek; Henryk Krukowski

doi:10.2478/jvetres-2026-0049

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Occurrence of Serratia marcescens in bovine intramammary infections: identification and antimicrobial susceptibility in a dairy herd

Journal of Veterinary Research

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By: Małgorzata Targońska-Karasek , Wojciech Ospałek and Henryk Krukowski

Open Access

|Aug 2026

Abstract

Introduction

Mastitis is one of the most economically significant diseases in dairy cattle, and its causation by atypical environmental pathogens is gaining attention. The study investigated the involvement of Serratia marcescens in intramammary infections occurring in a dairy herd and evaluated the bacterium’s antimicrobial resistance profile.

Material and Methods

Between February 2024 and June 2025, 481 quarter-milk samples collected from cows on a dairy farm in eastern Poland were subjected to routine bacteriological examination. Isolates were identified by biochemical, proteomic and molecular methods and tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by automated biochemical analysis.

Results

Serratia marcescens was isolated from the milk samples of 10 cows during different sampling periods. All isolates were consistently identified as S. marcescens, confirming the reliability of the applied comprehensive approach. Molecular analyses demonstrated high sequence similarity with reference strains. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed uniform resistance to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cefuroxime, colistin and tigecycline.

Conclusion

Serratia marcescens should be considered a relevant opportunistic pathogen in dairies, capable of causing sporadic or epidemic mastitis episodes. The findings are consistent with previous reports linking S. marcescens mastitis to environmental reservoirs and milking equipment contamination. Comprehensive diagnostic strategies, strict hygiene practices and targeted herd management measures are important to prevent and control mastitis caused by uncommon environmental pathogens.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2026-0049 | Journal eISSN: 2450-8608 (formerly 2300-3235)

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Language: English

Submitted on: Feb 17, 2026

Accepted on: Aug 21, 2026

Published on: Aug 27, 2026

Published by: National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

antimicrobial susceptibility,

Related subjects:

Microbiology and virology,

Life sciences, other,

Medicine,

Veterinary medicine

© 2026 Małgorzata Targońska-Karasek, Wojciech Ospałek, Henryk Krukowski, published by National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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