Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Whole-genome comparison of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC22 SCCmecIV from people and their in-contact pets.
- Journal:
- Veterinary dermatology
- Year:
- 2013
- Authors:
- Loeffler, Anette et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · United Kingdom
Plain-English summary
Researchers studied a type of bacteria called meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that can infect both people and their pets, particularly dogs and cats. They compared samples from infected pets and their human owners or veterinary staff to see if there were any differences in the bacteria based on the host. They found that while there were some genetic differences, these did not seem to be specific to either humans or pets, suggesting that pets are not natural hosts for this type of MRSA. The study highlights the importance of good hygiene practices to prevent the spread of infections between pets and people. Overall, the findings indicate that while MRSA can adapt, it does not appear to have developed specific traits for infecting pets.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections remain important medical and veterinary challenges. The MRSA isolated from dogs and cats typically belong to dominant hospital-associated clones, in the UK mostly EMRSA-15 (CC22 SCCmecIV), suggesting original human-to-animal transmission. Nevertheless, little is known about host-specific genetic variation within the same S. aureus lineage. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To identify host-specific variation amongst MRSA CC22 SCCmecIV by comparing isolates from pets with those from in-contact humans using whole-genome microarray. METHODS: Six pairs of MRSA CC22 SCCmecIV from human carriers (owners and veterinary staff) and their respective infected in-contact pets were compared using a 62-strain whole-genome S. aureus microarray (SAM-62). The presence of putative host-specific genes was subsequently determined in a larger number of human (n = 47) and pet isolates (n = 93) by PCR screening. RESULTS: Variation in mobile genetic elements (MGEs) occurred frequently and appeared largely independent of host and in-contact pair. A plasmid (SAP078A) encoding heavy-metal resistance genes (arsR, arsA, cadA, cadC, mco and copB) was found in three of six human and none of six animal isolates. However, only two of four resistance genes were associated with human hosts (P = 0.015 for arsA and cadA). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The variation found amongst MGEs highlights that genetic adaptation in MRSA continues. However, host-specific MGEs were not detected, which supports the hypothesis that pets may not be natural hosts of MRSA CC22 and emphasizes that rigorous hygiene measures are critical to prevent contamination and infection of dogs and cats. The host specificity of individual heavy-metal resistance genes warrants further investigation into different selection pressures in humans and animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23869430/