Detection of virulence plasmids in Rhodococcus equi strains isolated from pigs and cattle

Rhodococcosis caused by Rhodococcus equi has been found in pigs and cattle at three farms in the Nizhni Novgorod oblast. Strains from piglets and calves that died from rhodococcosis as well as from sows that reacted positively to turberculin had large, 60 MDa, plasmids, which allows considering them virulent. The plasmid profile of R. equi strains can serve as a marker for revealing sources and pathways of infection of agricultural animals.