Wild Animals Are Reservoirs and Sentinels of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA Clones: A Problem with “One Health” Concern

Abstract

Background: The availability of comprehensive data on the ecology and molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus/MRSA in wild animals is necessary to understand their relevance in the “One Health” domain. Objective: In this study, we determined the pooled prevalence of nasal, tracheal and/or oral (NTO) Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) carriage in wild animals, with a special focus on mecA and mecC genes as well as the frequency of MRSA and methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) of the lineages CC398 and CC130 in wild animals. Methodology: This systematic review was executed on cross-sectional studies that reported S. aureus and MRSA in the NTO cavities of wild animals distributed in four groups: non-human primates (NHP), wild mammals (WM, excluding rodents and NHP), wild birds (WB) and wild rodents (WR). Appropriate and eligible articles published (in English) between 1 January 2011 to 30 August 2021 were searched for from PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, SciElo and Web of Science. Results: Of the 33 eligible and analysed studies, the pooled prevalence of NTO S. aureus and MRSA carriage was 18.5% (range: 0–100%) and 2.1% (range: 0.0–63.9%), respectively. The pooled prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA in WM, NHP, WB and WR groups was 15.8/1.6, 32.9/2.0, 10.3/3.4 and 24.2/3.4%, respectively. The prevalence of mecC-MRSA among WM/NHP/WB/WR was 1.64/0.0/2.1/0.59%, respectively, representing 89.9/0.0/59.1/25.0% of total MRSA detected in these groups of animals.The MRSA-CC398 and MRSA-CC130 lineages were most prevalent in wild birds (0.64 and 2.07%, respectively); none of these lineages were reported in NHP studies. The MRSA-CC398 (mainly of spa-type t011, 53%), MRSA-CC130 (mainly of spa types t843 and t1535, 73%), MSSA-CC398 (spa-types t571, t1451, t6606 and t034) and MSSA-CC130 (spa types t843, t1535, t3625 and t3256) lineages were mostly reported. Conclusion: Although the global prevalence of MRSA is low in wild animals, mecC-mediated resistance was particularly prevalent among MRSA isolates, especially among WM and WB. Considering the genetic diversity of MRSA in wild animals, they need to be monitored for effective control of the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Fecal Carriage of S. aureus and the mecA Gene in Resident Wild Birds and Its Zoonotic Potential

“…The occurrence of the mecA gene in S. aureus isolates carried by wild birds was (57.1%, 40/70). Staphylococci have been identified as an appropriate model for "One Health" investigations, as some species and clones have been demonstrated to "jump" through the three ecosystems of interest (human, animals, and the environment) (Abdullahi et al, 2021). In the present study, staphylococci were detected in 60.2% (100/166) of the wild birds' fecal samples, among which S. aureus (70%, 70/100) were phenotypically and genotypically identified.…”

Prevalence and genetic lineages of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization and urinary tract infection among people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: A systematic review

“…Although methicillin resistance in some S. aureus isolates may be mediated by the novel methicillin resistance gene, the mecC gene, rather than the initially reported mecA gene. The mecC -mediated methicillin resistance is emerging and has been widely reported in wild animals ( Abdullahi et al., 2021b ).…”

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Other Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci and Mammaliicoccus (MRNaS) Associated with Animals and Food Products in Arab Countries: A Review

“…MRSA has also been detected in pet animals, pest animals and wildlife [ 118 , 119 ]. Generally, MRSA strains of these animals differ from those of livestock and production animals [ 21 ].…”