Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Multidrug and methicillin resistant staph in healthy and infected dogs
By Garbacz, Katarzyna et al.·Published in Current microbiology·2013·Department of Medical Microbiology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Staphylococci isolated from carriage sites and infected sites of dogs as a reservoir of multidrug resistance and methicillin resistance.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that infected dogs were more likely to carry drug-resistant staph bacteria compared to healthy dogs. Out of 197 infected dogs, 74 had multidrug-resistant staphylococci, while only 34 out of 172 healthy dogs showed similar resistance. The most common areas where these bacteria were found included the mouth, nose, and anus. This suggests that while healthy dogs can carry some resistant strains, the risk is higher in dogs showing signs of infection. If your dog has an infection, your vet may consider testing for these resistant bacteria to choose the best treatment.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and methicillin-resistant (MR) staphylococci in healthy dogs and in dogs with evident symptoms of infection. The samples from 172 healthy and 197 infected dogs were examined. The staphylococci were identified with conventional methods and by means of the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method (MboI). Susceptibility to 15 antibiotics from 10 different antimicrobial classes was tested. Resistance to methicillin was confirmed by the presence of Staphylococcus aureus mecA and S. sciuri mecA genes. Multidrug resistance was defined as resistance to three or more antimicrobial classes. The oral mucosa to be the most frequent site of staphylococcal colonization (55.8 %), followed by nasal cavity (44.2 %), and anus (32.6 %). The prevalence of MDR staphylococci in infected dogs was significantly higher than in the healthy animals (74/137 vs. 34/95, P = 0.006). The MR strains of S. pseudintermedius (2.9 %) originated solely from infected dogs. In contrast, the MR coagulase-negative strains (7.4 %) were isolated solely from healthy dogs. S. aureus strains originated from nasal swabs, MRSA strains were not isolated. MDR staphylococci and MR S. pseudintermedius are more common among infected dogs, but coagulase-negative staphylococci (mostly S. sciuri) seem to be a reservoir of methicillin resistance in healthy dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23099429/