Skip Navigation



JAC Advance Access published online on September 1, 2005

Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dki312
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
56/4/692    most recent
dki312v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Loeffler, A.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd, D. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Loeffler, A.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd, D. H.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received June 6, 2005
Revised July 20, 2005
Accepted August 9, 2005

Original article

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

Anette Loeffler 1*, Amanda K. Boag 1, Julia Sung 2, Jodi A. Lindsay 2, Luca Guardabassi 3, Anders Dalsgaard 3, Heather Smith 1, Kim B. Stevens 1, and David H. Lloyd 1

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

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Anette Loeffler, E-mail: aloeffler{at}rvc.ac.uk


   Abstract

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 indistinguishable (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 {beta}-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.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; mucosal carriage; dogs; cats; veterinary.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
B. Walther, S. Monecke, C. Ruscher, A. W. Friedrich, R. Ehricht, P. Slickers, A. Soba, C.-G. Wleklinski, L. H. Wieler, and A. Lubke-Becker
Comparative Molecular Analysis Substantiates Zoonotic Potential of Equine Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
J. Clin. Microbiol., March 1, 2009; 47(3): 704 - 710.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.Home page
C. Kehrenberg, C. Cuny, B. Strommenger, S. Schwarz, and W. Witte
Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus Strains of Clonal Lineages ST398 and ST9 from Swine Carry the Multidrug Resistance Gene cfr
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., February 1, 2009; 53(2): 779 - 781.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
M. Morgan
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and animals: zoonosis or humanosis?
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., December 1, 2008; 62(6): 1181 - 1187.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
P. M. Hawkey
The growing burden of antimicrobial resistance
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., September 1, 2008; 62(suppl_1): i1 - i9.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
MicrobiologyHome page
J. M.-L. Sung, D. H. Lloyd, and J. A. Lindsay
Staphylococcus aureus host specificity: comparative genomics of human versus animal isolates by multi-strain microarray
Microbiology, July 1, 2008; 154(7): 1949 - 1959.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Vet Rec.Home page
C. Westgarth, G. L. Pinchbeck, J. W. S. Bradshaw, S. Dawson, R. M. Gaskell, and R. M. Christley
Dog-human and dog-dog interactions of 260 dog-owning households in a community in Cheshire
Vet Rec., April 5, 2008; 162(14): 436 - 442.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Vet Rec.Home page
G. Leslie
Surveying therapets for MRSA
Vet Rec., March 22, 2008; 162(12): 388 - 388.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Med MicrobiolHome page
D. M. B. Sergio, T. H. Koh, L.-Y. Hsu, B. E. Ogden, A. L. H. Goh, and P. K. H. Chow
Investigation of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs used for research
J. Med. Microbiol., August 1, 2007; 56(8): 1107 - 1109.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
Vet Rec.Home page
S. I. Steen and P. J. Webb
Meticillin resistance in veterinary staphylococcal isolates
Vet Rec., May 5, 2007; 160(18): 635 - 636.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
T. Sasaki, K. Kikuchi, Y. Tanaka, N. Takahashi, S. Kamata, and K. Hiramatsu
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital
J. Clin. Microbiol., April 1, 2007; 45(4): 1118 - 1125.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
A. Moodley, M. Stegger, A. F. Bagcigil, K. E. Baptiste, A. Loeffler, D. H. Lloyd, N. J. Williams, N. Leonard, Y. Abbott, R. Skov, et al.
spa typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from domestic animals and veterinary staff in the UK and Ireland
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., December 1, 2006; 58(6): 1118 - 1123.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
D. A. Bemis, R. D. Jones, L. E. Hiatt, E. D. Ofori, B. W. Rohrbach, L. A. Frank, and S. A. Kania
Comparison of Tests To Detect Oxacillin Resistance in Staphylococcus intermedius, Staphylococcus schleiferi, and Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Canine Hosts.
J. Clin. Microbiol., September 1, 2006; 44(9): 3374 - 3376.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
S. Malik, G. W. Coombs, F. G. O'Brien, H. Peng, and M. D. Barton
Molecular typing of methicillin-resistant staphylococci isolated from cats and dogs
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., August 1, 2006; 58(2): 428 - 431.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
B. Strommenger, C. Kehrenberg, C. Kettlitz, C. Cuny, J. Verspohl, W. Witte, and S. Schwarz
Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains from pet animals and their relationship to human isolates
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., March 1, 2006; 57(3): 461 - 465.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]



Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.