Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Skin infections in dogs and cats caused by Staphylococcus haemolyticus
By Citron, Lindsey E et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2023·Department of Clinical Sciences and Advanced Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Genomic and clinical case characterisation of Staphylococcus haemolyticus isolated from dogs and cats in the United States, including strains with high-level mupirocin tolerance.
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs and cats with skin infections often had a bacteria called Staphylococcus haemolyticus, which can be resistant to multiple antibiotics. Most of the pets had received antibiotics or immune-modulating medications in the months leading up to their infections. The researchers discovered that many of these bacteria were resistant to meticillin, and some showed a high tolerance to mupirocin, making treatment more difficult. This suggests that Staphylococcus haemolyticus might be a more common cause of skin problems in pets than previously thought, and pet owners should be aware of its potential resistance to treatment.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a coagulase-negative commensal organism of both people and companion animals. It has pathogenic potential and when cultured is often meticillin- and multidrug-resistant. OBJECTIVES: To characterise the clinical features of dogs and cats with clinical skin disease that had positive S. haemolyticus skin cultures, and to employ whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to identify resistance genes and characterise the genetic relatedness of strains. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Isolates were identified by the institutional clinical microbiology laboratory by routine aerobic culture and susceptibility from seven veterinary hospitals across the United States. Then, WGS and analysis of each isolate were performed and clinical data collected via a retrospective clinician questionnaire. RESULTS: S. haemolyticus was identified from superficial (seven of 12) and deep (five of 12) cutaneous infections in our study. Most animals had received antimicrobials (10 of 12) and/or immunomodulatory drugs (nine of 12) within the six months before culture. WGS analysis revealed a variety of genetic lineages and a wide array of antimicrobial resistance genes. Meticillin resistance was identified in nine of 12 isolates and four of 12 isolates demonstrated mupirocin tolerance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Staphylococcus haemolyticus may be an under-recognised pathogen in companion animals, and its demonstrated potential for multidrug-resistance, meticillin-resistance, and high-level mupirocin tolerance may create a therapeutic challenge. Further studies should evaluate the prior antimicrobial use and immunocompromised status as risk factors for infection with S. haemolyticus.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36908239/