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Clonal transmission of a rare methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus genotype between horses and staff at a veterinary teaching hospital.
Abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection or colonization has become a serious emerging condition in equine hospitals. Following the detection of MRSA in asymptomatic hospitalized horses and in two horses with post-operative wound infections, an investigation was conducted. Twelve of 84 horses (14.3%) and 16 of 139 personnel (11.5%) were MRSA carriers. The profile of the dominant MRSA strain common to horses and staff was multi-drug-resistant, spa-type t535, SCCmec type V, pvl-negative. MLST of a representative isolate yielded sequence type (ST) 5. The risk of MRSA carriage among veterinary personnel was greater in equine veterinarians and full-time technicians in comparison to part-time technicians and to other personnel not working with horses. Strict infection control measures were implemented, horses infected or colonized with MRSA were isolated and decolonization of personnel was attempted. Six months after the intervention, the large animal department personnel and hospitalized horses were all MRSA-negative and the decolonization was considered successful. This outbreak, caused by a rare MRSA strain and involving both hospitalized horses and personnel, further demonstrates the ability of MRSA to spread between animals and humans and emphasizes the importance of infection control measures to decrease the risk for MRSA colonization and infection of both horses and personnel.
Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2012-11-26 PubMed ID: 23265243DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2012.11.020Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article talks about the transmission of a rare form of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria between horses and veterinary staff, emphasizing the need for strict infection control to reduce risks.
Introduction and Background
- The article revolves around Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a type of bacteria which is resistant to certain antibiotics, making it a serious emerging health concern in equine hospitals.
- Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterium that can cause serious infections if it gets into the bloodstream or lungs.
- MRSA was detected in both asymptomatic and post-surgical wound-infected horses in a veterinary hospital, prompting an investigation.
Methodology
- An array of tests was conducted to determine the strain and drug resistance profile of the MRSA identified.
- The research involved testing 84 horses and 139 personnel for MRSA, out of which 12 horses and 16 personnel were found to be carriers.
Findings
- The dominant MRSA strain identified in horses and staff was noted as spa-type t535, SCCmec type V, pvl-negative.
- This strain was found to be multi-drug resistant, further complicating the treatment prospects.
- The risk of MRSA carriage was higher among veterinary personnel who worked directly with the horses than others.
Interventions and Results
- Following the identification of the MRSA carriers, stern infection control measures were put in place against further spread.
- Both MRSA-colonized horses and personnel were isolated and a decolonization process was attempted.
- After six months, following the interventions, all horses and staff in the large animal department were tested and found to be MRSA-negative.
- This indicated the success of the decolonization process as well as the efficacy of the infection control measures implemented.
Conclusion
- The study underscored the significance of robust infection control measures to mitigate the risk of MRSA transmission between animals and humans.
- The success of the decolonization process highlights the potential effective measures against MRSA in equine settings.
- The discovery of an unusual MRSA strain substantiates the capacity of MRSA to evolve and the need for continual monitoring and research.
Cite This Article
APA
Schwaber MJ, Navon-Venezia S, Masarwa S, Tirosh-Levy S, Adler A, Chmelnitsky I, Carmeli Y, Klement E, Steinman A.
(2012).
Clonal transmission of a rare methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus genotype between horses and staff at a veterinary teaching hospital.
Vet Microbiol, 162(2-4), 907-911.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2012.11.020 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- National Center for Infection Control, Israel Ministry of Health, 6 Weizmann St., Tel Aviv 64239, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
- Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Electronic address: Steinman@agri.huji.ac.il.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Carrier State / veterinary
- Disease Outbreaks / veterinary
- Genotype
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horse Diseases / transmission
- Horses
- Hospitals, Animal
- Hospitals, Teaching
- Humans
- Israel / epidemiology
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / pathogenicity
- Multilocus Sequence Typing
- Staphylococcal Infections / epidemiology
- Staphylococcal Infections / genetics
- Staphylococcal Infections / transmission
- Staphylococcal Infections / veterinary
- Veterinarians
- Zoonoses / epidemiology
- Zoonoses / microbiology
- Zoonoses / transmission
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Caddey B, Fisher S, Barkema HW, Nobrega DB. Companions in antimicrobial resistance: examining transmission of common antimicrobial-resistant organisms between people and their dogs, cats, and horses. Clin Microbiol Rev 2025 Mar 13;38(1):e0014622.
- Berman TS, Barnett-Itzhaki Z, Berman T, Marom E. Antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals: towards implementing a one health based national action plan in Israel. Isr J Health Policy Res 2023 Apr 26;12(1):18.
- Khairullah AR, Sudjarwo SA, Effendi MH, Ramandinianto SC, Widodo A, Riwu KHP. A review of horses as a source of spreading livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to human health. Vet World 2022 Aug;15(8):1906-1915.
- Crespo-Piazuelo D, Lawlor PG. Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) prevalence in humans in close contact with animals and measures to reduce on-farm colonisation. Ir Vet J 2021 Aug 6;74(1):21.
- Shnaiderman-Torban A, Marchaim D, Navon-Venezia S, Lubrani O, Paitan Y, Arielly H, Steinman A. Third Generation Cephalosporin Resistant Enterobacterales Infections in Hospitalized Horses and Donkeys: A Case-Case-Control Analysis. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021 Feb 4;10(2).
- Sack A, Oladunni FS, Gonchigoo B, Chambers TM, Gray GC. Zoonotic Diseases from Horses: A Systematic Review. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2020 Jul;20(7):484-495.
- Kaspar U, von Lützau K, Schlattmann A, Rösler U, Köck R, Becker K. Zoonotic multidrug-resistant microorganisms among non-hospitalized horses from Germany. One Health 2019 Jun;7:100091.
- Hardefeldt L, Nielsen T, Crabb H, Gilkerson J, Squires R, Heller J, Sharp C, Cobbold R, Norris J, Browning G. Veterinary Students' Knowledge and Perceptions About Antimicrobial Stewardship and Biosecurity-A National Survey. Antibiotics (Basel) 2018 Apr 18;7(2).
- Adams R, Smith J, Locke S, Phillips E, Erol E, Carter C, Odoi A. An epidemiologic study of antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus species isolated from equine samples submitted to a diagnostic laboratory. BMC Vet Res 2018 Feb 5;14(1):42.
- Rojas I, Barquero-Calvo E, van Balen JC, Rojas N, Muñoz-Vargas L, Hoet AE. High Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at the Largest Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Costa Rica. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 Sep;17(9):645-653.
- Bortolami A, Williams NJ, McGowan CM, Kelly PG, Archer DC, Corrò M, Pinchbeck G, Saunders CJ, Timofte D. Environmental surveillance identifies multiple introductions of MRSA CC398 in an Equine Veterinary Hospital in the UK, 2011-2016. Sci Rep 2017 Jul 14;7(1):5499.
- Koop G, Vrieling M, Storisteanu DM, Lok LS, Monie T, van Wigcheren G, Raisen C, Ba X, Gleadall N, Hadjirin N, Timmerman AJ, Wagenaar JA, Klunder HM, Fitzgerald JR, Zadoks R, Paterson GK, Torres C, Waller AS, Loeffler A, Loncaric I, Hoet AE, Bergström K, De Martino L, Pomba C, de Lencastre H, Ben Slama K, Gharsa H, Richardson EJ, Chilvers ER, de Haas C, van Kessel K, van Strijp JA, Harrison EM, Holmes MA. Identification of LukPQ, a novel, equid-adapted leukocidin of Staphylococcus aureus. Sci Rep 2017 Jan 20;7:40660.
- Steinman A, Masarwa S, Tirosh-Levy S, Gleser D, Kelmer G, Adler A, Carmeli Y, Schwaber MJ. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus spa Type t002 Outbreak in Horses and Staff at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital after Its Presumed Introduction by a Veterinarian. J Clin Microbiol 2015 Sep;53(9):2827-31.
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