BACKGROUND: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the etiological agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA), a chronic and very common disease in sheep and goats, which can lead to severe economic losses in the livestock industry.OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of CLA in sheep in Kurdistan province of Iran using phenotypic and molecular methods, and assess the antibiotic resistance of isolated Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.METHODS: In this study, from September to March 2022, 270 samples of skin abscesses were collected from sheep in livestock farms of Kurdistan province. Immediately, using the cold chain system, the samples were transferred to the microbiology laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Identification of isolates was done using biochemical tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The antibiotic resistance of the isolates was examined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.RESULTS: Based on biochemical tests, out of 270 samples, 82 suspected to have Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Out 82 samples, the presence of bacteria was confirmed in 76 samples by the PCR. The antibiotic sensitivity test showed that the isolates had high sensitivity to doxycycline and ceftriaxone and high resistance to streptomycin and kanamycin.CONCLUSIONS: The CLA has a high prevalence in sheep in Kurdistan province. According to high resistance rate of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis to streptomycin and kanamycin, it recommended to avoid treatment of CLA cases with these antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: Food infections caused by Campylobacter are one of the gastrointestinal inflammations in humans is health and economic losses in the community is important. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of Campylobacter contamination in chicken skin samples of Urmia, using bacterial culture and polymerase chain reactions.                 METHODS: 80 samples of chicken skin from the Protein Gostare Sina slaughter house located in the city of Urmia in equal numbers in the winter and spring seasons were collected. The survival of Campylobacter after 24 hours in refrigerated conditions  was studied in samples. Positive samples were used for DNA extraction and PCR. To investigate the phylogenetic isolates, positive samples PCR were sequenced. RESULTS: 58/75% of chicken skin using bacterial cultures, Campylobacter were positive. The Results study the survival Campylobacter in cold conditions after 24 hours, showed that no significant decrease in the survival Campylobacter as well as contamination levels were significantly higher in spring than in winter, which may be due to the high temperature of environment that created the favorable conditions for Campylobacter. CONCLUSIONS: Chicken skin is the reservoir  of Campylobacter. This issue of public health care and control at all stages of production and supply of poultry products, also the transfer of it to other parts of poultry carcasses should be considered.