Abstract
BackgroundCoagulase-positive (CoPS) and coagulase-negative (CoNS) staphylococci are normal commensals of the skin and mucosa, but are also opportunist pathogens. Meticillin-resistant (MR) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates are increasing in human and veterinary healthcare. Healthy humans and other animals harbour a variety of staphylococci, including MR-CoPS and MR-CoNS. The main aims of the study were to characterise the population and antimicrobial resistance profiles of staphylococci from healthy non-vet visiting and non-antimicrobial treated Labrador retrievers in the UK.ResultsNasal and perineal samples were collected from 73 Labrador retrievers; staphylococci isolated and identified using phenotypic and biochemical methods. They were also confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), PCR of the nuc gene and PCR and sequencing of the tuf gene. Disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) susceptibility tests were determined for a range of antimicrobials. In total, 102 CoPS (S. pseudintermedius n = 91, S. aureus n = 11) and 334 CoNS isolates were detected from 99% of dogs in this study. In 52% of dogs CoNS only were detected, with both CoNS and CoPS detected in 43% dogs and CoPS only detected in 4% of dogs. Antimicrobial resistance was not common among CoPS, but at least one MDR-CoNS isolate was detected in 34% of dogs. MR-CoNS were detected from 42% of dogs but no MR-CoPS were isolated. S. epidermidis (52% of dogs) was the most common CoNS found followed by S. warneri (30%) and S. equorum (27%), with another 15 CoNS species isolated from ≤ 15% of dogs. S. pseudintermedius and S. aureus were detected in 44% and 8% of dogs respectively.ConclusionsMR- and MDR-CoPS were rare. However a high prevalence of MR- and MDR-CoNS were found in these dogs, even though they had no prior antimicrobial treatment or admission to veterinary premises. These findings are of concern due to the potential for opportunistic infections, zoonotic transmission and transmission of antimicrobial resistant determinants from these bacteria to coagulase positive staphylococci.
Highlights
Coagulase-positive (CoPS) and coagulase-negative (CoNS) staphylococci are normal commensals of the skin and mucosa, but are opportunist pathogens
Bacterial isolation Staphylococci were isolated from in 72 out of 73 dogs (99%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 99.6-95.8) and from both sample sites in the majority of dogs (78%; 95% CI: 67.3, 86.0)
Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) were detected in the majority of dogs (95%, 95% CI 86.7, 97.8) either alone (52%, 95% CI 40.8, 63.1) or with CoPS (43%, 95% CI 31.8, 53.9)
Summary
Coagulase-positive (CoPS) and coagulase-negative (CoNS) staphylococci are normal commensals of the skin and mucosa, but are opportunist pathogens. Staphylococci are normal commensal bacteria of the skin and mucous membranes of humans and other animals. They can be differentiated by their ability to produce coagulase, with coagulase positive (CoPS) staphylococci regarded as more pathogenic than coagulase negative (CoNS) species [1,2,3,4,5]. Other species isolated from the mucosa and skin of healthy dogs include the CoPS S. schleiferi subspecies coagulans [10,21] and numerous CoNS (S. schleiferi subspecies schleiferi, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. saprophyticus, S. devriesei, S. warneri, S. simulans, S. xylosus, S.capitus, S. caprae, and S. sciuri) [12,15,22,23,24,25,26]. The carriage rate of CoNS isolated from the nasal mucosae of healthy dogs was reported to be 38% in one large cross-sectional study [15]
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