Animals & MRSA

One in six vet staff human strain MRSA carriers?

Objectives: The occurrence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and the possible relatedness between human and animal isolates were investigated among veterinary staff and hospitalized animals in a referral small animal hospital in the UK.

Methods: A total of 300 swab samples were taken from nasal and oral mucosae of 78 veterinary staff, 45 dogs, 12 cats and from 30 environmental surfaces. Staphylococci were isolated by selective enrichment and characterized by biochemical tests and antimicrobial disc susceptibility testing. MRSA isolates were genotypically confirmed by PCR and typed by PFGE.

Results: MRSA was isolated from 14 staff (17.9%), four dogs (9%), and three environmental sites (10%) yielding a total of 28 MRSA isolates. PFGE analysis revealed that most MRSA isolates were indistinguish- able (56%) or closely related (26%) to EMRSA-15, one of the two epidemic MRSA strains dominant in UK hospitals. Like EMRSA-15, the predominant strain isolated from staff, dogs and environmental sites was resistant to fluoroquinolones in addition to all b-lactams.

Conclusions: The study provides evidence of EMRSA-15 mucosal carriage in veterinary staff and hospitalized dogs, with the risk of MRSA carriage in veterinary staff being significantly higher than reported for the UK healthy community. EMRSA-15 was predominant in the hospital environment, including humans, dogs, and inanimate objects, but the mode by which the strain was introduced and spread remains uncertain.

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among staff and pets in a small animal referral hospital in the UK

Anette Loeffler1*, Amanda K. Boag1, Julia Sung2, Jodi A. Lindsay2, Luca Guardabassi3, Anders Dalsgaard3, Heather Smith1, Kim B. Stevens1 and David H. Lloyd1

1Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK; 2Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, St. George’s, University of London, London, UK; 3Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederisksberg C, Denmark

Vets at high risk for MRSA carriage

Objectives    Due to their multiple antibiotic resistance properties, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a major public health problem. After the recently described emergence of MRSA in animals, the authors investigated the risk of nasal MRSA carriage among people with professional contact with animals.

Methods Nasal swabs andi nformation on animal exposure and known MRSA risk factors were obtained from participants (N=702) at five conferences organized by national veterinary and farmer associations and students at a business school in Denmark. All of the participants were screened by standard microbiological techniques for MRSA detection and characterization.

Results    MRSA carriage was significantly (P<0.02) higher among the veterinary practitioners (3.9%) than among the participants not professionally exposed to animals (0.7%). Six of the nine MRSA strains isolated from veterinary practitioners belonged to clonal complexes (CC) previously associated with horses (CC8), small animals (CC22), and pigs (CC398). Although four of the nine positive veterinarians carried the CC associated with pigs, exposure to small animals, cattle, or horses, but not to pigs, was found to be a significant risk factor.

Conclusions    The results indicate that veterinarians are at risk of MRSA carriage. Veterinary professionals should be informed about this emerging occupational health risk and educated about preventive measures. Col- laboration between national medical and veterinary institutions is urgently needed to control the spread of these unwanted bacteria in the community.

Moodley A, Nightingale EC, Stegger M, Nielsen SS, Skov RL, Guardabassi L. High risk for nasal carriage of me- thicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Danish veterinary practitioners. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2008;34(2):151–157.

Vets warned over antibiotic over prescription

WARNINGS have been issued that the withdrawal of certain antimicrobials from veterinary use could result if vets don’t reduce their reliance on them. The growing problem of resistance to antimicrobials was highlighted during an MRSA clinicians’ day in London, hosted by the Bella Moss Foundation, which followed on from the second International Conference on MRSA in Animals.

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You can also find detailed insight into antibiotic treatment for animals in this article for veterinary surgeons