Canine Staphylococcus argenteus: Case Report from The Netherlands

Abstract

Staphylococcus argenteus has been reported worldwide in humans, while reported non-human cases are sparse. Its complete epidemiology, alongside its infectivity and pathogenicity in humans and non-humans, remain to be clarified. Here, we describe the first reported canine Staphylococcus argenteus, causing a deep wound infection in a Labrador retriever after orthopedic surgery. The closed genome is reported, with phylogenic and genetic analyses, as well as extensive phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing for human and veterinary antibiotics. No genetic explanation could be found for its interaction with a canine host, underscoring the intrinsic multispecies pathogenicity and potential (anthropo-)zoonotic spread of Staphylococcus argenteus.

Keywords: ST2250; Staphylococcus argenteus; canine; genome sequencing.

Figure 1

Colony morphology of found Staphylococcus argenteus (left), showing creamy white colonies with a β-hemolytic zone on sheep blood agar. Staphylococcus aureus (right) for comparison.

Figure 2

Phylogenetic tree of the core genome SNPs diversity of Staphylococcus argenteus, Staphylococcus schweitzeri and Staphylococcus aureus. The identified S. argenteus ST2250 isolate 20S00001-1 is indicated in red. Branch lengths in the tree were adjusted to sites per core genome and square root transformed to enhance resolution. All publicly available S. argenteus and S. schweitzeri isolates were included. Available S. aureus reference isolates of the most common S. aureus clonal complexes were used for rooting.