Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in different free-living wild animal species in Spain
The Veterinary Journal publish this investigation article
October 1st, 2013
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a life-threatening pathogen in humans and its presence in animals is a public health concern. The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of MRSA in free-living wild animals. Samples from red deer (n=273), Iberian ibex (n=212), Eurasian Griffon vulture (n=40) and wild boar (n=817) taken from different areas in Spain between June 2008 and November 2011 were analyzed. Characterization of the isolates was performed by spa typing, multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. A low prevalence of MRSA was found with 13 isolates obtained from 12 animals (0.89%; 95% CI: 0.46-1.56). All MRSA sequence types belonged to ST398 (t011 and t1451) and ST1 (t127). Genotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns (tetracycline resistance in ST398 and clindamycin-erythromycin-tetracycline resistance in ST1) suggest that the MRSA found probably originated in livestock (ST398) or humans (ST1). This is the first report of MRSA carriers in free-living wild animals in Europe. Although our data showed that MRSA prevalence is currently low, free-living wild animals might act as reservoir and represent a potential risk for human health
Porrero MC., Mentaberre G., Sanchez S., Fernandez-Llario P., Gomez S., Navarro-Gonzalez N., Serrano E., Casas-Diaz E., Marco I., Fernandez-Garayzabal JF., Mateos A., Vidal D., Lavin S. and Dominguez L..
 | Servicio de Zoonosis de Transmisión Alimentaria y Resistencia a Antimicrobianos (ZTA). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
 | Servicio de Ecopatología de Fauna Salvaje (SEFaS). Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). |
 | Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC). Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM). |
 | Departament de Matemática. Universitat de Lleida. |
 | Universidad de Extremadura (UNEX). |
| Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
