Antimicrobial Resistance and Molecular Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus from Hunters and Hunting Dogs

Abstract

Several studies have showed that a dog-to-human transmission of Staphylococcus aureus occurs. Hunting dogs do not have as much contact with their owners as dogs that live in the same household as the owners; however, these dogs have contact with their owners during hunting activities as well as when hunting game; therefore, we aimed to isolate S. aureus from hunters and their hunting dogs to investigate a possible S. aureus transmission. Nose and mouth samples were collected from 30 hunters and their 78 hunting dogs for staphylococcal isolation. The species identification was performed using MALDI-TOF. The antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were accessed using the Kirby–Bauer method and respective antimicrobial resistance genes were investigated by PCR. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa- and agr-typing was performed in all S. aureus isolates. S. aureus were detected in 10 (30%) human samples and in 11 (15.4%) dog samples of which 11 and 5 were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Other staphylococci were identified, particularly, S. pseudintermedius. Most S. aureus isolates were resistant to penicillin, erythromycin, and tetracycline. Evidence of a possible transmission of S. aureus between human and dogs was detected in three hunters and their dogs. S. aureus isolates were ascribed to 10 STs and 9 spa-types. A moderate colonization of S. aureus in hunting dogs and their owners was detected in this study. A few dog-to-dog and dog-to-human possible transmissions were identified.

Phenotypic Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus to Antibiotics in Dogs of Tamale Metropolis, Ghana

“…The licking of dog owners also serves as a potential means of transmitting S. aureus between humans and dogs and vice versa. Another study supports this by indicating few dog-to-dog and dog-tohuman transmissions of S. aureus 17 . Other authors reported the presence of S. aureus in dogs in different countries.…”

“…This has led to a strong attachment between dogs and their owners or caretakers, and therefore, pets are treated as family members 11 . Dogs have been reported to be potential sources of various zoonotic pathogens, such as S. aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Klebsiella species, and Bacillus species 9,12,13,14 that are resistant to various antibiotics, including ampicillin, cephalosporin, gentamicin, enrofloxacin, methicillin, and tetracycline 10,15,16,17 .…”

Pet animals as reservoirs for spreading methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to human health

“…Since cases of MRSA infection are more widely known in humans in the community, it is not realized that transmission of MRSA from pets may occur due to frequent direct contact between humans and pets [ 16 ]. Human and animal health will be significantly affected by the MRSA outbreak in pets [ 17 ].…”

“…In addition, several studies have revealed that MRSA in pets is mostly derived from MRSA in humans [ 16 , 44 , 128 ]. The risk of MRSA colonization is correlated with close interaction with humans and pets [ 20 ].…”

“…Still, this direction of MRSA transmission remains unclear, even if the same strain of MRSA is identified in both animals and humans [ 147 ]. The results of molecular typing analysis cannot be used to pinpoint the source of MRSA zoonotic infection, especially concerning pets, because they frequently have the dominant type of MRSA in people [ 16 ]. People who work in animal hospitals have also been diagnosed with zoonotic infections [ 148 ].…”