The results of optimization of the Staphylococcus spp. identification protocol by polymerase chain reaction with agarose gel detection and approbation of the protocol with wild strains selected from dogs are presented. Determination of the parameters of specificity and sensitivity of the method was performed on museum strains of cocci S. epidermidis ATCC 14990, S. aureus ATCC 25923, S. aureus subsp. aureus UKM B-918, S. pneumoniae ATCC 49619 and E. faecalis ATCC 194433. DNA extraction was performed using the IndiSpin Pathogen Kit. The ready PCR mix NEB OneTaq® 2X Master Mix with Standard Buffer was used to prepare the reaction mixture. Primers targeted to the tuf gene region using an amplification product of 370 bp were used for the study. The reaction results were recorded in a 2% agronomic gel with the addition of ethidium bromide at a concentration of 0.5%. The optimal annealing temperature was determined by the temperature gradient method. In a study of the specificity of the method, three museum strains of staphylococci were identified as positive, while strains of other cocci did not give reaction products. The sensitivity study of the method was to detect the amplification product in seven dilutions of bacterial suspension that meet McFarland turbidity standards, the lowest concentration was further diluted 10, 100 and 1,000 times. The last dilution, which showed the presence of the amplification product corresponds to 2×106 CFU in 200 μl of saline used for DNA isolation. PCR protocol was tested on wild staphylococcal strains. Ear and nasal swabs of dogs, as well as washes from the transfer cage were selected for the study. The primary inoculation of the material was carried out on mannitol salt agar, on this medium only the growth of halophilic microorganisms is possible. Growth was found on 17 Petri dishes. The PCR washings of these cups indicated the presence of staphylococci in the test materials. The results of in-laboratory PCR testing indicate that the primer we used gives high indicators of specificity and sensitivity. Our tested technique can be used to confirm the presence of Staphylococcus spp. bacteria in the primary culture of smears taken from dogs. Key words: PCR, tuf gene, approbation of primers, optimization of primers, dog microflora, Staphylococcus spp.

The article presents the data on prevalence and intensity of earthworms’ infection with metastrongylid larvae in pork production enterprises of Kyiv and Zhytomyr Regions of Ukraine. In the investigated areas, six species of lumbricids were collected and identifi ed: Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826), Aporrectodea rosea (Savigny, 1826), A. caliginosa (Savigny, 1826), Dendrodrilus rubidus (Savigny, 1826), Lumbricus rubellus (Linnaeus, 1758), L. terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758). Th e studies were carried out from April to September, 2016, both in pig farms and on pastures. We observed no pronounced changes in prevalence and intensity of infection during the warm period of the year. Th e highest infection rates were detected in earthworms living under the wooden floor of pigpens and in its cracks. In the studied localities, metastrongylid larvae were found in the most common worms of the Lumbricidae family: E. foetida, D. rubidus, A. caliginosa, and L. rubellus.

The clinical efficiency of the an bio c is determined by its distribu on in organs and ssues, the ability to penetrate the physiological and pathological barriers of the body. The ar cle presents the results from a study of the intake, distribu on, and excre on of doxycycline hyclate -the ac ve substance of the an bio c pollodoxin from the body of broiler chickens (the Cobb-500 cross) with ornithobacteriosis.It has been established that 24 hours a er the pollodoxin solu on applica on in broiler chickens with ornithobacteriosis, the highest content of its ac ve substance (doxycycline hyclate) was found in the lungs, liver, slightly less -in the kidneys, and least -in the heart and pectoral muscles. A er 48 and 72 hours, the content of doxycycline hyclate increases in the liver, kidneys, heart, and pectoral muscles compared to 24 hours, while in the lungs decreases slightly a er 48 hours and does not differ from it a er 72 hours. At 96 hours, the content of doxycycline hyclate in the kidneys, lungs, and pectoral muscles reaches maximum values; in the liver it is smaller than the previous one (72 hours), while in the heart it does not differ from it. Doxycycline hyclate does not show cumula ve proper es and "organ affilia on" during 96 hours of entry into the body of broiler chickens with ornithobacteriosis. A er 24 hours of discon nua on of pollodoxin use (120 hours of the experiment), the content of doxycycline hyclate

Nowadays ornithobacteriosis is widespread among industrial poultry in Ukraine and the world. The disease leads to significant economic losses. The large variation in the serotypes of the bacteria complicates the treatment of the disease. The study of microscopic changes that occur in organs during ornithobacteriosis will help to better understand the pathogenesis of the disease development. Ornithobacteriosis was diagnosed in clinically sick broiler chickens by bacteriological studies using Maldi Tof mass-spectrometry. As a result of the antibiotic sensitivity test, the pathogen was found to be sensitive to doxycycline, tilmicosin, rifampicin, cefazolin, amoxiclav and benzylpenicillin. Histological studies of internal organs – trachea, lungs, heart, kidneys, liver and spleen – were carried out. It was found that with spontaneous ornithobacteriosis of broiler chickens, the most expressive microscopic changes occur in the respiratory organs – the lungs and trachea and are characterized by a decrease in the lumen of the parabronchials due to edema of their walls and infiltration with lymphocytes, the absence of epithelium on the surface of the parabronchials, narrowing of the air capillaries of the parabronchial complexes, hemorrhages in the parenchyma of the parabronchial complexes, vasodilatation of the lung vessels and overflow of their blood vessels with blood cells, edema around the epithelium trachea, destruction of part of the tracheal mucosa epithelial cells, edema of its submucosa, expansion and overflow of blood vessels of the mucous membrane with blood cells. In the spleen there was a uniform diffuse edema of the parenchyma and a decrease in the number of lymphocytes in the lymphoid follicles; in the kidneys – expansion and overflow of the stroma blood vessels, uneven edema of the glomeruli of one part of the renal corpuscles and destruction of the glomeruli of another, granular degeneration of the convoluted and straight tubules of the kidneys; in the liver – edema, hemorrhage, violation of the hepatic lobules’ structure, expansion of the hepatic veins, granular degeneration of hepatocytes or their destruction; in the heart – edema of the myocardial interstitium, muscle fibers’ granular dystrophy, fragmentation of muscle fibers as a result of their rupture. Histological research of ORT infected chickens will lead to a better understanding the mechanism of pathological changes at the microscopic level, which will facilitate the development of more effective methods of treatment and prevention of the disease.

Bacterial safety in the modern poultry industry plays a key role and is one of the key factors in production effi ciency. In the structure of poultry infectious pathology, the leading place is occupied by such bacteria as Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Enterococcus cecorum, Staphylococcus aureus, Gallibacterium anatis. The results of studies of samples of pathological material obtained from a sick bird are presented that indicate that most often Escherichia coli cultures were isolated from the heart (41,5 %), liver (22,0 %) and lungs (20,7 %), less often spleen (5,2 %) and kidney (2,0 %). Most isolated cultures of Escherichia coli (78 %) caused hemolysis when plating material on blood agar. The largest number of pathogenic cultures of Escherichia coli was isolated from adult chickens, signifi cantly fewer chickens under the age of 20 days. The associated course of bacterioses caused by two or more pathogens was noted in 89,8 % of cases. In 38,5 % of cases, Escherichia coli, bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus and Gallibacterium anatis were isolated from pathological material, in 27,3 % – a joint course of escherichiosis, staphylococcosis and enterobacteriosis was noted, in 15,7 % – escherichiosis, salmonellosis and enterobacteriosis, in 8,3 % – pasteurellosis and enterobacteriosis. In 13,2 % of cases with pathological material from chickens (liver, joints, in chickens – blind processes of the intestine) Clostridium perfringens was isolated. Three species of bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus were identifi ed: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus pluranimalium (51,7 % from the liver, 21,7 from the lungs, 18,3 from the spleen, 5,0 % from the kidneys). Enterococcus cecorum was identifi ed in 11,32 % of the studied samples from cloacal swabs, oviducts and bone marrow, and Gallibacterium anatis was identifi ed in 11,32 % (from the upper respiratory tract and genitals). Key words: poultry farms, monitoring, bacterial infection, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus chromogenes, Staphylococcus pluranimalium, Enterococcus cecorum, Clostridium perfringens, Gallibacterium anatis.