Antimicrobial resistance and genomic analysis of staphylococci isolated from livestock and farm attendants in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Background The emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in food producing animals is of growing concern to food safety and health. Staphylococci are common inhabitants of skin and mucous membranes in humans and animals. Infections involving antibiotic resistant staphylococci are associated with increased morbidity and mortality, with notable economic consequences. Livestock farms may enable cross-species transfer of antibiotic resistant staphylococci. The aim of the study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance patterns of staphylococci isolated from livestock and farm attendants in Northern Ghana using phenotypic and genotypic methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on staphylococci recovered from livestock and farm attendants and isolates resistant to cefoxitin were investigated using whole genome sequencing. Results One hundred and fifty-two staphylococci comprising S. sciuri (80%; n = 121), S. simulans (5%; n = 8), S. epidermidis (4%; n = 6), S. chromogens (3%; n = 4), S. aureus (2%; n = 3), S. haemolyticus (1%; n = 2), S. xylosus (1%; n = 2), S. cohnii (1%; n = 2), S. condimenti (1%; n = 2), S. hominis (1%; n = 1) and S. arlettae (1%; n = 1) were identified. The isolates showed resistance to penicillin (89%; n = 135), clindamycin (67%; n = 102), cefoxitin (19%; n = 29), tetracycline (15%; n = 22) and erythromycin (11%; n = 16) but showed high susceptibility to gentamicin (96%; n = 146), sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (98%; n = 149) and rifampicin (99%; n = 151). All staphylococci were susceptible to linezolid and amikacin. Carriage of multiple resistance genes was common among the staphylococcal isolates. Genome sequencing of methicillin (cefoxitin) resistant staphylococci (MRS) isolates revealed majority of S. sciuri (93%, n = 27) carrying mecA1 (which encodes for beta-lactam resistance) and the sal(A) gene, responsible for resistance to lincosamide and streptogramin. Most of the MRS isolates were recovered from livestock. Conclusion The study provides insights into the genomic content of MRS from farm attendants and livestock in Ghana and highlights the importance of using whole-genome sequencing to investigate such opportunistic pathogens. The finding of multi-drug resistant staphylococci such as S. sciuri carrying multiple resistant genes is of public health concern as they could pose a challenge for treatment of life-threatening infections that they may cause.

Bacterial infections epidemiology and factors associated with multidrug resistance in the northern region of Ghana

“…Typically, animal farming practices that employ excessive amounts of antibiotics can contaminate the agroecosystem through applying infected manure as fertilizer and irrigating crops with wastewater 58 , 59 . This is supported by findings from previous studies conducted in Northern Ghana 60 , 61 and also in other parts of the country 62 , 63 where resistance genes were detected in samples from animals, foods and the environment.…”

“…The results were presented as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and all analyses were conducted with a P-value of 0.05 considered statistically significant. (28,60). During the four (4) years covered by this study, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of samples received per year by sex of patients (P-value = 0.300).…”

Local Epidemiology of Nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus Infection in a Nigerian University Teaching Hospital

“…The same was true for nitrofurantoin, fusidic acid, mupirocin, and rifampicin ( Figure 3 ). However, resistances to fusidic acid [ 22 ], mupirocin [ 23 ], nitrofurantoin [ 24 ], rifampicin [ 25 ] and vancomycin [ 24 ] have been reported in other studies performed in Africa. During the study period, we were able to include 92.3% (325/351) of the eligible patients screened after admission.…”

Genomic analysis of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli from Urban Environmental water sources in Accra, Ghana, Provides Insights into public health implications

“…Of the 43 E. coli isolates obtained, 25 (58%) were MDR and were selected for WGS comprised six (24%), four (16%), 12 (48%), and three (12%) were selected from HE, KL, OD, and WWTP, respectively. DNA extraction and WGS were performed following methods described previously [34]. Briefly, DNA was extracted using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen Inc., GmbH, Holden, Germany) and quantified using a Qubit TM 4.0 Fluorometer (Invitrogen, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Singapore).…”