Abstract
BackgroundThe objectives of this study were to determine for the first time, in Morocco, the nasal carriage rate, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and virulence genes of Staphylococcus. aureus isolated from animals and breeders in close contact.MethodsFrom 2015 to 2016, 421 nasal swab samples were collected from 26 different livestock areas in Tangier. Antimicrobial susceptibility phenotypes were determined by disk diffusion according to EUCAST 2015. The presence of nuc, mecA, mecC, lukS/F-PV, and tst genes were determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for all isolates.ResultsThe overall S. aureus nasal carriage rate was low in animals (9.97%) and high in breeders (60%) with a statistically significant difference, (OR = 13.536; 95% CI = 7.070–25.912; p < 0.001). In general, S. aureus strains were susceptible to the majority of antibiotics and the highest resistance rates were found against tetracycline (16.7% in animals and 10% in breeders). No Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was detected in animals and breeders. A high rate of tst and lukS/F-PV genes has been recovered only from animals (11.9 and 16.7%, respectively).ConclusionDespite the lower rate of nasal carriage of S. aureus and the absence of MRSA strains in our study, S. aureus strains harbored a higher frequency of tst and lukS/F-PV virulence genes, which is associated to an increased risk of infection dissemination in humans. This highlights the need for further larger and multi-center studies to better define the transmission of the pathogenic S. aureus between livestock, environment, and humans.
Highlights
The objectives of this study were to determine for the first time, in Morocco, the nasal carriage rate, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and virulence genes of Staphylococcus. aureus isolated from animals and breeders in close contact
Numerous studies have indicated that the increasing rate of the incidence of antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus in animals is a result of the misuse and unjustified utilization of antibiotics [11, 14, 15] in animal husbandry either, for therapeutic, preventive purposes or as growth promoters (GPs)
Phenotypic and molecular methods were able to isolate and identify forty-two (42/421, 9.97%) and thirty (30/50, 60%) strains from animals and breeders, respectively (OR = 13.536; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 7.070–25.912; p < 0.001)
Summary
The objectives of this study were to determine for the first time, in Morocco, the nasal carriage rate, antimicrobial susceptibility profiles and virulence genes of Staphylococcus. aureus isolated from animals and breeders in close contact. Staphylococcus aureus, especially, methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains (MRSA) are considered as major pathogens that infect and/or colonize both humans and animals [1]. The emergence of LA-MRSA has been increasingly associated with alarming rates of MRSA infection and colonization among humans in contact with livestock, suggesting an increased risk of zoonotic transmission [9, 10]. These pathogenic strains could be subsequently dispersed to the environment and to other species [7] through food chain [11] and direct contact [12,13,14]. The overuse of antibiotics still represents a challenging issue and GPs such as tetracycline are still permitted with a veterinary prescription in Morocco [17]
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