Epidemiology of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in cats in Poland

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a well-known coagulase-positive staphylococcus that is mainly associated with the asymptomatic colonization of the skin of pets and mucous membranes. Little is still known about the occurrence of S. pseudintermedius in cats. The current study aimed to characterize the isolates of S. pseudintermedius from sick and healthy cats. This was achieved by examining their antibiotic resistance properties, biofilm formation, and genotype differences. Six hundred and seventy-six cats were swabbed (595 healthy and 81 sick cats). Thirty-five distinct S. pseudintermedius isolates from 27 cats were isolated. The prevalence of S. pseudintermedius in healthy and sick cats was 2.49% and 7.61%, respectively. In comparison, MRSP (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius) prevalence was 0.12% and 2.98%, respectively. Cats were more frequently colonized with S. pseudintermedius when kept with dogs, regardless of their health condition, with this result being statistically significant. Multidrug resistance was detected in 50%, and 38.46% of S. pseudintermedius isolates from healthy and sick cats, respectively. In contrast, genetic multidrug resistance was detected in 59% and 46.15% cases, respectively. Seven from eight isolated MRSPs were multidrug-resistant. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) assigned isolates to 19 types, of which 16 types submitted for the first time to the PubMLST database. The most frequently detected STs (sequence types) were 551 and 71. ST71 and ST551 were mainly isolated from cats with clinical signs of infection. All were MRSPs, regardless of cats’ health. These isolates were characterized with the most frequent antibiotic resistance at the phenotypic and genotypic level.

A sampling survey of enterococci within pasteurized, fermented dairy products and their virulence and antibiotic resistance properties

Globally, fermented foods (FFs), which may be traditional or industrially-produced, are major sources of nutrition. In the traditional practice, the fermentation process is driven by communities of virtually uncharacterized microflora indigenous to the food substrate. Some of these flora can have virulent or antibiotic resistance properties, posing risk to consumers. Others, such as Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, may also be found in such foods. Enterococci that harbor antibiotic resistance or virulence factors can cycle among animals, food, humans and the environment, thereby transferring these harmful properties at the gene level to harmless commensals in the food matrix, animals and humans. In this work, several microbial isolates obtained from different FF sources were analyzed for their identity and virulence and/or antibiotic resistance properties. For identification aiming at enterococci, isolates that were Gram-positive and catalase- and oxidase-negative were subjected to multiple tests including for growth in broth containing 6.5% NaCl, growth and hydrolytic activity on medium containing bile-esculin, hemolytic activity on blood agar, and growth at 45°C and survival after incubation at 60°C for 30 min. Furthermore, the isolates were tested for susceptibility/resistance to a select group of antibiotics. Finally, the isolates were molecularly-characterized with respect to species identity and presence of virulence-encoding genes by amplification of target genes. Most sources contained enterococci, in addition to most of them also containing Gram-negative flora. Most of these also harbored virulence factors. Several isolates were also antibiotic-resistant. These results strongly suggest attention should be given to better control presence of such potentially pathogenic species.

Molecular Typing and Phenotypic and Genotypic Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Factors of the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteria Isolated From Vegetable and Salad Samples

BackgroundMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is an important cause of foodborne diseases. The present research evaluated the antibiotic resistance properties, distribution of virulence factors, and molecular typing of MRSA bacteria isolated from vegetable and salad samples. MethodsThree-hundred and fifty vegetable and salad samples were examined for the presence of S. aureus using the culture. MRSA bacteria were identified using cefoxitin and oxacillin disk diffusion. The phenotypic pattern of antibiotic resistance was assessed by disk diffusion. ResultsThe PCR evaluated the distribution of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes. Forty-five out of 350 (12.85%) vegetable and salad samples were positive for S. aureus. Twenty-six isolates out of 45 (57.77%) S. aureus bacteria were determined as MRSA. MRSA bacteria harbored the uppermost prevalence of resistance against cefoxitin (100%), ceftaroline (100%), penicillin (100%), tetracycline (88.46%), gentamicin (80.76%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (69.23%), and erythromycin (69.23%). The prevalence of MRSA bacteria resistance recovered from vegetable and salad samples against more than seven antibiotic agents was 12.50% and 27.77%, respectively. BlaCTX-M (100%), blaZ (100%), aacA-D (61.53%), tetK (57.69%), dfrA1 (46.15%), and vanA (42.30%) were the most commonly detected antibiotic resistance genes. PVL (57.69%), coa (53.84%), and hla (38.46%) were the most commonly detected virulence factors amongst the MRSA bacteria. ConclusionMRSA isolates had a similarity lower than 80%, categorized in the same group. The presence of one or more virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes amongst the resistant-MRSA bacteria signifies an important threat rendering the consumption of contaminated vegetables and salads.

Phenotypic and genotypic evaluation of antibiotic resistance and molecular characterization of Streptococcus species isolated from hospital cockroaches

Background The present investigation aimed to assess the antibiotic resistance properties and distribution of virulence factors in the Streptococcus spp. isolated from hospital cockroaches. Methods Six-hundred and sixty cockroach samples were collected. Cockroaches were vigorously washed with normal saline, and the achieved saline was used for bacterial culture. Isolated Streptococcus spp. were subjected to disk diffusion as well as PCR amplification of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes. Results Prevalence of S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae and S. pneumonia was 4.82%, 1.66% and 6.96%, respectively. The highest prevalence of S. pyogenes, S. agalactiae and S. pneumonia were found in oriental (5.71%), oriental (2.85%) and American (7.71%) cockroaches, respectively. Cfb (53.93%), cyl (52.8%), scaa (51.68%) and glna (50.56%) were the most commonly detected streptococcal virulence factors. Pbp2b (71.91%), pbp2 × (58.42%), mefA (46.06%), ermB (46.06%) and tetM (46.06%) were the most commonly detected antibiotic resistance genes. Streptococcal spp. exhibited the highest prevalence of resistance against tetracycline (80.89%), trimethoprim (65.16%), and penicillin (56.17%). Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prevalence report of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes in the Streptococcal spp. isolated from American, German and oriental hospital cockroaches. Findings recommended a certain role for cockroaches in the transmission of nosocomial infections and particularly those caused by virulent and resistant Streptococcus spp. in the hospital environment.

Virulence factors and antibiotic resistance properties of the Staphylococcus epidermidis strains isolated from hospital infections in Ahvaz, Iran

Background Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis strains are considered to be one of the major causes of human clinical infections in hospitals. The present investigation was done to study the pattern of antibiotic resistance and the prevalence of virulence and antibiotic resistance genes amongst the S. epidermidis strains isolated from human hospital infections. Methods One hundred hospital infectious samples were collected and S. epidermidis strains were identified using culture and biochemical tests. Isolated strains were subjected to disk diffusion and PCR. Results Forty-six out of 100 hospital infectious samples (46%) were positive for S. epidermidis. S. epidermidis strains harbored the highest prevalence of resistance against penicillin (95.65%), tetracycline (91.30%), erythromycin (82.60%), cefazolin (78.26%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (73.91%). All S. epidermidis strains had resistance against at least three different types of antibiotics, while the prevalence of resistance against more than seven types of antibiotics was 17.39%. AacA-D (69.56%), tetK (56.52%), mecA (45.65%), msrA (39.13%), and tetM (39.13%) were most commonly detected antibiotic resistance genes. The prevalence of vatC (4.34%), ermA (8.69%), vatA (8.69%), vatB (13.04%), ermC (13.04%), and linA (10.86%) were lower than other detected antibiotic resistance genes. ClfA (32.60%), agrIII (17.39%), and etB (13.04%) were the most commonly detected virulence factors. Conclusions The presence of virulent and multi-drug resistance S. epidermidis strains showed an important public health issue in hospitals.