Abstract
Transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) between people and pets, and their co-carriage, are well-described. Potential exchange of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes amongst these staphylococci was investigated in vitro through endogenous bacteriophage-mediated transduction. Bacteriophages were UV-induced from seven donor isolates of canine (MRSP) and human (MRSA) origin, containing tet(M), tet(K), fusB or fusC, and lysates filtered. Twenty-seven tetracycline- and fusidic acid- (FA-) susceptible recipients were used in 122 donor-recipient combinations (22 tetracycline, 100 FA) across 415 assays (115 tetracycline, 300 FA). Bacteriophage lysates were incubated with recipients and presumed transductants quantified on antimicrobial-supplemented agar plates. Tetracycline resistance transduction from MRSP and MRSA to methicillin-susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) was confirmed by PCR in 15/115 assays. No FA-resistance transfer occurred, confirmed by negative fusB/fusC PCR, but colonies resulting from FA assays had high MICs (≥32 mg/L) and showed mutations in fusA, two at a novel position (F88L), nine at H457[Y/N/L]. Horizontal gene transfer of tetracycline-resistance confirms that resistance genes can be shared between coagulase-positive staphylococci from different hosts. Cross-species AMR transmission highlights the importance of good antimicrobial stewardship across humans and veterinary species to support One Health.
Highlights
Transmission of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens between humans and pets contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is facilitated by frequent close contact and advanced veterinary care [1]
Transfer occurred from Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) COL into control methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) RN4220 and three methicillin-susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) recipients, and from methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) 1726 into three MSSP
This cross-species spread of AMR, from the human pathogen S. aureus into the canine pathogen S. pseudintermedius, is of particular relevance to the often-close contact settings between pet owners and their pets, with S. aureus acting as a potential reservoir of resistance genes for S. pseudintermedius
Summary
Transmission of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens between humans and pets contributes to the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is facilitated by frequent close contact and advanced veterinary care [1]. MRSA is occasionally isolated from infections in pets, typically after reverse zoonotic transmission [4]. Though, its “canine counterpart”, methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP), has emerged as a highly drug-resistant, zoonotic pathogen in veterinary clinics [5,6]. MRSP is primarily adapted to dogs, it shares many microbiological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics with MRSA. Both are coagulase-positive opportunistic pathogens with the ability to colonise mucosae and skin asymptomatically. Simultaneous co-carriage of and infection with S. aureus and S. pseudintermedius have been documented in humans and dogs [7,8,9]
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