Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA in Livestock: Antimicrobial Resistance and Genetic Lineages

Abstract

Animal production is associated with the frequent use of antimicrobial agents for growth promotion and for the prevention, treatment, and control of animal diseases, thus maintaining animal health and productivity. Staphylococcus aureus, in particular methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), can cause a variety of infections from superficial skin and soft tissue infections to life-threatening septicaemia. S. aureus represents a serious public health problem in hospital and community settings, as well as an economic and animal welfare problem. Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) was first described associated with the sequence (ST) 398 that was grouped within the clonal complex (CC) 398. Initially, LA-MRSA strains were restricted to CC398, but over the years it has become clear that its diversity is much greater and that it is constantly changing, a trend increasingly associated with multidrug resistance. Therefore, in this review, we aimed to describe the main clonal lineages associated with different production animals, such as swine, cattle, rabbits, and poultry, as well as verify the multidrug resistance associated with each animal species and clonal lineage. Overall, S. aureus ST398 still remains the most common clone among livestock and was reported in rabbits, goats, cattle, pigs, and birds, often together with spa-type t011. Nevertheless, a wide diversity of clonal lineages was reported worldwide in livestock.

Whole genome sequencing and molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients with bacteraemia in Slovenia

“…Of these, 13 belonged to spa type t359, one to spa type t2770 and one was non-typable. This clone is usually associated with livestock and rarely with human infections [ 36 , 37 ]. Spa type t359 was previously confirmed in Slovenia among suspected human CA-MRSA isolates in 2014 and 2015 [ 11 ].…”

Distribution characteristics and potential risks of bioaerosols during scattered farming

“…Here, attention should be on the effect of weather conditions with high temperature, humidity, and particulate matter concentration on Staphylococcus [47][48][49] . Infection with Staphylococcus may cause acute or chronic infectious diseases in poultry, with common clinical manifestations of skin blisters and abscesses [50][51][52] . Furthermore, we found that temperature affects the concentration of bioaerosols.…”

Genome-based surveillance reveals cross-transmission of MRSA ST59 between humans and retail livestock products in Hanzhong, China

“…MRSA has been recognized in hospitals, community and livestock animals and the epidemiology of MRSA is undergoing a major evolution among humans and animals in the last decade ( Chen et al, 2021 ; Yu et al, 2021 ). Since the livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) was first recognized in Europe in 2003, LA-MRSA has been identified in numerous countries around the world, including China ( Cui et al, 2009 ; Silva et al, 2023 ). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analyzes seven constitutively expressed (housekeeping) genes that are essential to cellular functioning of organisms.…”

“…Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analyzes seven constitutively expressed (housekeeping) genes that are essential to cellular functioning of organisms. LA-MRSA of sequence type (ST) 398 dominates in Europe, Australia and the United States, while LA-MRSA-ST9 is the main epidemic lineage in Asia ( Yu et al, 2021 ; Silva et al, 2023 ). Several studies have identified specific LA-MRSA within the community acquired-MRSA category ( Bisdorff et al, 2012 ; Mascaro et al, 2018 ; Sun et al, 2019 ).…”