Occurrence and molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in an academic veterinary hospital

Abstract

Recently, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) have been increasingly isolated from veterinarians and companion animals. With a view to preventing the spread of MRSA and MRSP, we evaluated the occurrence and molecular characteristics of each in a veterinary college. MRSA and MRSP were isolated from nasal samples from veterinarians, staff members, and veterinary students affiliated with a veterinary hospital. Using stepwise logistic regression, we identified two factors associated with MRSA carriage: (i) contact with an identified animal MRSA case (odds ratio [OR], 6.9; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.2 to 21.6) and (ii) being an employee (OR, 6.2; 95% CI, 2.0 to 19.4). The majority of MRSA isolates obtained from individuals affiliated with the veterinary hospital and dog patients harbored spa type t002 and a type II staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), similar to the hospital-acquired MRSA isolates in Japan. MRSA isolates harboring spa type t008 and a type IV SCCmec were obtained from one veterinarian on three different sampling occasions and also from dog patients. MRSA carriers can also be a source of MRSA infection in animals. The majority of MRSP isolates (85.2%) carried hybrid SCCmec type II-III, and almost all the remaining MRSP isolates (11.1%) carried SCCmec type V. MRSA and MRSP were also isolated from environmental samples collected from the veterinary hospital (5.1% and 6.4%, respectively). The application of certain disinfection procedures is important for the prevention of nosocomial infection, and MRSA and MRSP infection control strategies should be adopted in veterinary medical practice.

FIG. 1.

PFGE dendrogram showing percentage similarities calculated by Dice coefficient (tolerance of 1% and optimization of 1%) and SCCmec and spa types of MRSA isolates. The MRSA isolates were taken from the environment (E), dogs (dog patients at the RGU hospital [D*] and dog patients at the primary veterinary hospital [D**]), and humans (H).