Nasal Staphylococcus aureus and S. pseudintermedius carriage in healthy dogs and cats: a systematic review of their antibiotic resistance, virulence and genetic lineages of zoonotic relevance

Abstract

The molecular ecology of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and their methicillin‐resistant strains in healthy dogs and cats could serve as good models to understand the concept of bacterial zoonosis due to animal companionship. This study aims to provide insights into pooled prevalence, genetic lineages, virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among healthy dogs and cats. Original research and brief communication articles published from 2001 to 2021 that reported the nasal detection of S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius in healthy dogs and cats in the community, homes and outside veterinary clinics were examined and analysed. Forty‐nine studies were eligible and included in this systematic review. The pooled prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus/methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in healthy dogs and cats were 10.9% (95% CI: 10.1–11.9)/2.8% (95% CI: 2.4–3.2) and 3.2% (95% CI: 1.9–4.8)/0.5% (95% CI: 0.0–1.1), respectively. Conversely, the pooled prevalence of S. pseudintermedius/methicillin‐resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) in healthy dogs and cats were 18.3% (95% CI: 17.1–19.7)/3.1% (95% CI: 2.5–3.7) and 1.3% (95% CI: 0.6–2.4)/1.2% (95% CI: 0.6–2.3), respectively. Although highly diverse genetic lineages of S. aureus were detected in healthy dogs and cats, MSSA‐CC1/CC5/CC22/CC45/CC121/CC398 and MRSA‐CC5/CC93/CC22/CC30 were mostly reported in dogs; and MSSA‐CC5/CC8/CC15/CC48 and MRSA‐CC22/CC30/CC80 in cats. Of note, MSSA‐CC398 isolates (spa‐types t034 and t5883) were detected in dogs. Genetic lineages often associated with MSSP/MRSP were ST20/ST71, highlighting the frequent detection of the epidemic European MRSP‐ST71 clone in dogs. S. aureus isolates carrying the luk‐S/F‐PV, tst, eta, etb and etd genes were seldomly detected in dogs, and luk‐S/F‐PV was the unique virulence factor reported in isolates of cats. S. pseudintermedius isolates harbouring the luk‐S/F‐I, seint and expA genes were frequently found, especially in dogs. High and diverse rates of AMR were noted, especially among MRSA/MRSP isolates. There is a need for additional studies on the molecular characterization of isolates from countries with under‐studied nasal staphylococci isolates.

Clonal relatedness of coagulase-positive staphylococci among healthy dogs and dog-owners in Spain. Detection of multidrug-resistant-MSSA-CC398 and novel linezolid-resistant-MRSA-CC5

“…When compared to the current study, this suggests that humans are the major reservoir of S. aureus contributing to transmission to dogs. However, it is important to mention that zoonotic transmission from dogs to humans is also possible (Abdullahi et al, 2022).…”

Genomic Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus in Wildlife

“…This seems consistent with the main S. aureus colonization hypothesis in dogs insofar as humans act as the primary source of S. aureus strains for dogs [ 1 ]. One of the isolates also carried the human marker IEC, which is a typical finding in MSSA isolates from dogs and could result from community or dog owner transmission [ 64 ].…”

The Diversity and Zoonotic Potential of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in Humans and Pet Dogs in Trinidad and Tobago

“…The resistance against antimicrobials in S. pseudintermedius is quite variable according to the studies performed, though MRSP strains tend to be increasingly prevalent, and those strains tend to be multidrug-resistant [ 39 , 40 ], as also seen in our study. The AMR genes found in these strains are the classical resistance genes often found in S. pseudintermedius [ 41 , 42 ].…”