Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus : Frequency and Antibiotic Resistance in Healthy Ruminants

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant pathogen that can colonize the nares of different animals, causing a wide range of infections in various hosts.

We intended to determine the prevalence of S. aureus in the nasal cavity of healthy ruminants and also to investigate the presence of antibiotic resistance genes.

In the present study, healthy cattle (n = 79), sheep (n = 78) and goats (n = 44) were screened for nasal carriage of S. aureus by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Staphylococcus aureus isolates were further assessed for the presence of blaZ (encoding penicillin resistance), mecA (encoding methicillin resistance), tetK and tetM (encoding tetracycline resistance), and ermA and ermC (encoding macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance) genes.

The proportion of S. aureus-positive nasal swabs from cattle, sheep and goats were four (5.06%), 11 (14.1%) and 11 isolates (25%), respectively. The blaZ gene was detected in 20 out of 26 S. aureus isolates (76.9%), including four cattle (100%), nine sheep (81.8%) and seven goats (63.6%). Two of the four cattle isolates possessing the blaZ gene also had the tetK gene. Of the nine sheep isolates harboring the blaZ gene, one possessed the mecA and tetK genes together. Of the seven goat isolates with blaZ gene, one harbored the tetM gene. None of the S. aureus isolates were positive for the ermA and ermC genes.

In contrast to cattle, S. aureus is frequently present in the nose of sheep and goats, which may represent the primary reservoir of S. aureus in small ruminant flocks. This study also showed that nasal isolates of S. aureus from healthy ruminants might be a potential reservoir of antimicrobial-resistance.