Virulence Mechanisms of Staphylococcal Animal Pathogens

Abstract

Staphylococci are major causes of infections in mammals. Mammals are colonized by diverse staphylococcal species, often with moderate to strong host specificity, and colonization is a common source of infection. Staphylococcal infections of animals not only are of major importance for animal well-being but have considerable economic consequences, such as in the case of staphylococcal mastitis, which costs billions of dollars annually. Furthermore, pet animals can be temporary carriers of strains infectious to humans. Moreover, antimicrobial resistance is a great concern in livestock infections, as there is considerable antibiotic overuse, and resistant strains can be transferred to humans. With the number of working antibiotics continuously becoming smaller due to the concomitant spread of resistant strains, alternative approaches, such as anti-virulence, are increasingly being investigated to treat staphylococcal infections. For this, understanding the virulence mechanisms of animal staphylococcal pathogens is crucial. While many virulence factors have similar functions in humans as animals, there are increasingly frequent reports of host-specific virulence factors and mechanisms. Furthermore, we are only beginning to understand virulence mechanisms in animal-specific staphylococcal pathogens. This review gives an overview of animal infections caused by staphylococci and our knowledge about the virulence mechanisms involved.

Methicillin Resistance Elements in the Canine Pathogen Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Their Association with the Peptide Toxin PSM-mec

“…It is a member of the animal pathogen Staphylococcus intermedius group (SIG) [1]. S. pseudintermedius is considered a significant opportunistic pathogen of dogs [2], where it is responsible for causing a variety of diseases, such as pyoderma (characterized as skin and soft tissue infections that scale in severity), and infections of the urinary tract and external ear canal [3]. Dog-biting incidents of humans by colonized or infected animals [4] can lead to the zoonotic transmission of S. pseudintermedius, including methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP), to humans [5,6].…”