Abstract
Spread of livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) to farmworkers has been recognized as a risk when working in LA-MRSA positive stables, due to LA-MRSA being present on airborne dust particles. Based on this, airborne spread of LA-MRSA through stable vents is a concern that is addressed in this study. The aim of the investigation was to quantify the airborne spread of LA-MRSA from a MRSA positive swine farm. In order to achieve this, a method for sampling large volumes of air was applied. The results were compared to meteorological data and bacteriological investigation of samples from the air inside the swine barn, soil outside the farm, and nasal samples from the individuals participating in the sampling process. MRSA was detected up to 300 m (the maximal measuring distance) from the swine farm in the air but only at low levels at distances above 50 meters (0.085 CFU/m3 at a distance of 50 m in the wind plume). MRSA was detected in sock samples obtained at the soil surfaces up to 400 m (the maximal measuring distance) from the farm building. The proportion of MRSA positive soil samples decreased from ~80 to 30% with increasing distance from the farm. A total of 25 human nasal samples were sampled after the farm visits after the participants had stayed in the surroundings of the farm for an average of 10.5 h. When leaving the farm, only two of the samples (8%) were LA-MRSA-positive both obtained from one individual who was the one who had sampled the ventilation shafts. In conclusion, airborne spread of MRSA from swine farms does not seem to be an important route for human contamination for individuals staying a whole working day outside a swine farm.
Highlights
Farm animals are a reservoir for transmission of livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) to humans [1,2,3]
All MRSA isolates belonged to CC398, carried the mecA gene, they were negative for scn and Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL) and belonged to either of the spa types t011 or t034
Using data from the ventilation system, the amount of LA-MRSA (CFU/h) expelled from the ventilator shafts was computed and compared with the corresponding data obtained from the active ventilator shafts that were sampled from the outside
Summary
Farm animals are a reservoir for transmission of livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) to humans [1,2,3]. In Denmark, the proportion of LA-MRSA positive swine herds has increased dramatically since the first findings in 2008, reaching 95% in 2019 [4] and at the same time a steep increase in human LA-MRSA cases has been observed. This was primarily in persons with direct. Among the new LA-MRSA cases, 34% of the infections and 11% of the colonizations were not associated with direct livestock contact, respectively [4]. The transmission to persons without livestock contact most likely occur by human contacts, but may alternatively result from environmental spread of LA-MRSA from swine farms
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