Characterization of Coagulase Negative Staphylococci Isolated from Dairy Goats in Germany

: Over 2 years as a part of a surveillance program, 2038 one half milk samples were collected from dairy goats representing 12 German herds. Microbiological investigation of the samples revealed positive bacterial growth in 17.3% of them. Biochemical identification of the field isolates detected Non-Aureus Staphylococci (NAS) in 10.4%, Corynebacteria in 3.2%, Streptococci in 0.8%, S. aureus in 0.7%, other bacteria in 1.0%. Meanwhile, mixed bacterial growth was shown in 2.2% of the samples. To identify the NAS isolates at their species level the detection of their biochemical properties alone using a commercial test kit enabled the correct identification of a randomized selection of the field isolates only in 11.4%. For further identification, a combination of two other identification techniques (antibiotic resistance profiles and molecular assays) was