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Genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus by Ribosomal Spacer PCR (RS-PCR)
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Spa type distribution in Staphylococcus aureus originating from pigs, cattle and poultry

H Hasman1, A Moodley, L Guardabassi

  • 1Technical University of Denmark, National Food Institute, Bülowsvej 27, 1790 Copenhagen V, Denmark. hhas@food.dtu.dk

Veterinary Microbiology
|October 17, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) clonal complex 398 (CC398) is common in pigs but absent in cattle and poultry. Poultry isolates predominantly belonged to CC5, a common human type, with similar genetic profiles found in human infections.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Microbiology
  • Bacterial Genomics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) CC398 is a growing global concern in livestock and humans.
  • Limited data exists on the prevalence and clonal distribution of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in animal reservoirs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of S. aureus clonal complexes, including CC398, in pigs, cattle, and poultry.
  • To compare the clonal distribution of S. aureus from these animal reservoirs with human isolates.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 296 S. aureus isolates from pigs, cattle, and poultry using spa typing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST).
  • Comparison of animal isolate spa types with common spa types from Danish human blood isolates.
  • Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for genetic comparison of selected poultry and human isolates.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences in spa types were observed among S. aureus isolates from pigs, cattle, and poultry, with little overlap between reservoirs or with human isolates.
  • Porcine isolates were dominated by CC398 (spa type t034), CC30, and CC9.
  • Bovine isolates were mainly CC50, CC97, and CC151.
  • Poultry isolates were predominantly CC5 (spa types t002, t306), a common human type, with PFGE confirming genetic similarity between a poultry isolate and human isolates.
  • MSSA CC398 was prevalent in pigs but not detected in cattle or poultry.

Conclusions:

  • S. aureus clonal distribution varies significantly across different animal reservoirs (pigs, cattle, poultry).
  • Poultry harbors S. aureus CC5, a type frequently found in humans, suggesting potential transmission pathways.
  • MSSA CC398 is a significant component of the pig S. aureus population but not found in the other tested animal reservoirs.

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