Elsevier

Veterinary Microbiology

Volume 215, February 2018, Pages 77-82
Veterinary Microbiology

Short communication
Diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from Austrian ruminants and New World camelids

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2018.01.006Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Report on first mecC-carrying MRSA isolates originating from domesticated animals in Austria.

  • Reporting of the first New World camelids associated MRSA in Europe.

  • First observation of MRSA in Austrian ruminants and New World camelids need particular attention.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, the antimicrobial resistance patterns and the genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Austrian ruminants and New World camelids that were treated at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. Between April 2014 and January 2017, 723 nasal swabs originating from ruminants and New World camelids were examined. MRSA isolates were characterized by mecA/mecA1/mecC PCRs and by DNA microarray analysis. They were genotyped by spa typing, dru typing, MLST and MLVA. Glycopolymer fingerprinting by FTIR spectroscopy was also performed. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted by agar disk diffusion. Twelve MRSA isolates were mecA-positive, whereas three were mecC-positive. The MRSA isolates carried five different SCCmec elements, and belonged to three sequence types (ST45, ST130, ST398). The MRSA isolates displayed seven different resistance phenotypes. The present study describes for the first time mecC-carrying MRSA isolates originating from domesticated animals in Austria. More systematic studies are needed to unravel the role of ruminants and New World camelids as reservoirs for MRSA as a potential risk for zooanthropogenic transmission.

Introduction

To date, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most important multi-drug resistant pathogens worldwide (Köck et al., 2010). So far, two different mec genes, mecA and mecC are known to occur in S. aureus from humans and animals. Although the presence of MRSA carrying mecA or mecC, has been documented in companion and wild animals from Austria (Loncaric et al., 2013b, Loncaric et al., 2014), data describing the presence of MRSA in Austrian ruminants are scarce. A recent study describing a suspected goat-to-human transmission of MRSA ST398 was the first one in Austria that detected MRSA in Austrian goats (Loncaric et al., 2013a). So far, there are no data about MRSA in New World camelids, i.e., South American camelids, neither from South America nor from Austria or other European countries. New World camelids are a group of animals, which include llamas (Lama glama), guanacos (Lama guanicoe), vicunas (Lama vicugna) and alpacas (Lama pacos). Breeding and production of New World camelids has become increasingly popular in recent years. Since these animals are often kept as hobby companion animals, they become important as a potential source of different pathogens that might be transmitted from them to humans and vice versa. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to gain deeper insight into the presence and the types of MRSA from Austrian ruminants and New World camelids, to determine their antimicrobial resistance properties and to provide a molecular and phenotypic characterization of the respective isolates. Since there is no information available on the presence of MRSA in the abovementioned animals, sampling was performed solely on animals presented for treatment at the Clinic for Ruminants at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria.

Section snippets

Bacterial isolates and estimation of confidence intervals

From spring 2014 until January 2017, 723 nasal swabs were collected from ruminants including cattle (n = 221), calves (n = 143), goats (n = 96) and sheep (n = 134), as well as New World camelids, including alpacas (n = 99) and llamas (n = 30), presented as patients in the Clinic for Ruminants at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria. The study was discussed and approved by the institutional ethics and animal welfare committee in accordance with Good Scientific Practice

Isolation of MRSA

MRSA were detected in 15 of 723 nasal swabs resulting in a carriage rate of 2.07% over all tested animal species. MRSA was most frequently isolated from goats (8.33%, 95%-confidence interval (CI) 3.67% – 15.76%) followed by sheep (2.99%, CI 0.82% – 7.47%), cattle (0.45% CI 0.01% – 2.90%), llamas (3.33%, CI 0.08% – 17.22%) and alpacas (1.01%,CI 0.03% – 5.50%). The methicillin resistance gene mecA was detected in 12 MRSA strains, whereas three strains, all from goats, carried the mecC gene

The

Conclusion

The current study is the first investigation on MRSA in Austrian ruminants and New World camelids. Even though the presence of MRSA (less than 3%) is low, various MRSA strains were detected carrying either mecA or mecC genes. The present study describes for the first time that livestock animals in Austria are colonized with MRSA isolates that carry the mecC gene. Moreover, this is the first study that reports the appearance of MRSA CC130 carrying the mecC gene in goats. More systematic studies

Conflict of interest statement

None to declare.

Acknowledgments

The research work was supported by the Austrian Buiatric association and by internal funding from the Institute of Microbiology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria. The work of ATF and SS was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the German Aerospace Center (DLR), MedVet-Staph II (01KI1301D) and (since 2017) is financially supported by the BMBF through DLR, grant number #1-Health-PREVENT (01KI1727D).

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    Both authors contributed equally to this study.

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