Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Microbial Pathogenesis journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/micpath Antibiotic susceptibility of cultivable aerobic microbiota from the oral cavity of Echis carinatus from Odisha (India) Laxmipriya Padhi a,1 , Sujogya Kumar Panda a,1 , Pratyush P. Mohapatra b , Gunanidhi Sahoo c,* a Department of Zoology, North Orissa University, Baripada, 757003, Odisha, India b Central Zone Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India c Department of Zoology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 751004, Odisha, India ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance Echis carinatus Oral microflora Zoonoses Snakebite ABSTRACT During a snake bite, the microbes may get transferred to the bite site and may cause secondary infection along with envenomation. The knowledge on the oral bacterial flora of snakes constitutes information important for snake bite management. The inadequately studied oral microflora of snakes differ geographically, temporally and among the members of the same species. The objective of this study is to determine the pattern of oral bacterial flora of Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) and their susceptibility to antibiotics. Oral swabs were col- lected from nine healthy Saw-scaled vipers, subjected to microbiological, biochemical and molecular char- acterization. Additionally, these isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using ICOSA-20- Plus and ICOSA-20-Minus. A wide range of pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella arizonae, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Proteus penneri, Alcaligenes faecalis; Citrobacter diversus, C. freundii, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus anthracis, Staphylococcus sciuri and Achromobacter xylosoxidans were isolated as new additions to the floral diversity of saw scale viper. Most of the isolates were sensitive towards amikacin, azithromycin, imipenem, ciprofloxacin, gen- tamicin, ofloxacin, sparfloxacin, tobramycin, levofloxacin, kanamycin, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol while resistant to amoxyclav, cephalothin, cefpodoxime, Co-Trimoxazole, oxacillin and penicillin. The present study revealed that the bacterial flora of the oral cavity of Saw-scaled viper is resistant to many common antibiotics, which are often used for the treatment of snake-bite victims. 1. Introduction Snakes typically live in habitats where various bacterial strains also exist. During handling of snakes by herpetologists, veterinarians, biol- ogists, students, collectors and those who raise snakes as pets or during snake bites, the oral microflora of the snakes may affect victims by transmitting pathogenic organisms [1]. When snakes are bumped into veterinary medicine, it is necessary to monitor their microflora” [2]. Identification of microorganisms in snakes is important not only to expand knowledge of the bacteria that cohabit with these interesting animals, but also to deepen the understanding of etiological agents of secondary infections resulting from accidents during handling. Several microorganisms are present in the oral cavity of snakes. Some of them may be beneficial to the host while a majority of the strains are either opportunistic or pathogenic in nature. During the ophidian accidents, they may get transferred to humans causing secondary infections. The similarity between the oral microflora of snakes and the bacteria found in snake bite wounds has been demonstrated [3,4]. These studies have also established that the diversity of snake oral flora varies with species, seasons and geographical locations. In a country like India, snake-bite incidence is much higher. Usually, the relationship between en- venomation and association of microbial infections is neglected during the treatment process. Echis carinatus (Schneider 1801), commonly known as Saw-scaled viper, is a short nocturnal snake that inhabits semi-desert areas with sparse vegetation. “In India, where around half of snake bite deaths worldwide are thought to take place, the Saw-scaled viper is one of four species which together account for the highest number of human fatalities.” 2 A 10 year study conducted by Punde [5] in the state of Maharashtra, India observed that out of a total of 427 patients bitten by venomous snakes, the number bitten by Saw-scaled viper was highest (274 patients, 64.2%), followed by Cobra (71, 16.6%), Krait (42, 9.8%) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2020.104121 Received 15 August 2019; Received in revised form 3 March 2020; Accepted 6 March 2020 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: gunanidhi.nou@gmail.com (G. Sahoo). 1 Authors contribute equally. 2 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44253586. Microbial Pathogenesis 143 (2020) 104121 Available online 10 March 2020 0882-4010/ © 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd. T