Abstract
BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus is a contagious, opportunistic pathogen that causes clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The genetic background and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from Ethiopian dairy farms has not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize S. aureus from Ethiopian hand milked dairy cows, by spa, MLST and virulence factor typing, and by assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility. A total of 79 S. aureus isolates from intramammary infections was studied. A PCR was used to detect lukM-lukF’ and pvl genes encoding the bovine and human associated bi-component leukocidins, and the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene-1 (tst). Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined using the broth microdilution method.ResultsTwenty different spa types were identified, most isolates were t042 (58%), and the closely related t15786 (11%). The proportion of isolates positive for lukM-lukF’, tst and pvl was low at 0.04, 0.10 and 0.09 respectively, with lukM-lukF’ often co-occurring with tst, but not with pvl. Methicillin-resistance was not found, but resistance to penicillin/ampicillin (86%) and tetracycline (54%) was very common.ConclusionsWe found a high degree of relatedness among bovine S. aureus isolates in North-Western Ethiopia, suggesting contagious within and between farm transmission of strains that are often resistant to commonly used antimicrobials. This highlights the need for effective preventive measures that aim at limiting transmission of bacteria rather than using antimicrobials to control S. aureus mastitis in Ethiopia.
Highlights
Staphylococcus aureus is a contagious, opportunistic pathogen that causes clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle
We found a high degree of relatedness among bovine S. aureus isolates in North-Western Ethiopia, suggesting contagious within and between farm transmission of strains that are often resistant to commonly used antimicrobials
This highlights the need for effective preventive measures that aim at limiting transmission of bacteria rather than using antimicrobials to control S. aureus mastitis in Ethiopia
Summary
Staphylococcus aureus is a contagious, opportunistic pathogen that causes clinical or subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle. The genetic background and antimicrobial resistance of isolates from Ethiopian dairy farms has not been studied. The aim of this study was to characterize S. aureus from Ethiopian hand milked dairy cows, by spa, MLST and virulence factor typing, and by assessment of antimicrobial susceptibility. Staphylococcus aureus is a contagious pathogen that causes mastitis in dairy cattle [1, 2], and is an opportunistic pathogen in humans and many other animal species [3,4,5]. Transmission of Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht. Genotyping does give information on modes of transmission, but can be used to identify
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