Epizootic staphylococcal infections in subhuman primates after surgical operation

In late October, 1974, Staphylococcus aureus postoperative wound infection was recorded in a nonhuman primate (Macaca mulatta) which had recently undergone surgical operation. Infection in a second monkey appeared approximately 2 weeks later, and a clustering of 6 cases appeared over the next 3-week period. The clinical spectrum included septicemia in 2 monkeys and skin infection at the surgical incision site of several others. Investigation revealed a uniform and consistent association of a phage group II S aureus strain characterized as 3A/55/71. This strain was also found to be enzootic among other postoperative monkeys sharing or having shared a common postsurgical care unit with infected monkeys. Epizootiologic studies indicated that this unusually virulent S aureus strain probably was introduced by an infected monkey which underwent surgery earlier in the month and that additional monkeys became infected by animal-to-animal transmission. After appropriate control sanitary measures were instituted, no new infections occurred.