Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2025
Genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus by Ribosomal Spacer PCR RS-PCR
Published on: November 4, 2016
Staphylococci isolated from cats in Italy with superficial pyoderma and allergic dermatitis: Characterisation of
Paola Cavana1, Patrizia Robino1, Maria Cristina Stella1
1Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Torino, Italy.
Background:
In cats, superficial pyoderma traditionally is considered rare and few reports are available. There is a particular lack of studies concerning Staphylococcus species associated with pyoderma in subjects affected by allergic skin diseases.
Hypothesis/Objectives:
(i) To evaluate the association between Staphylococcus spp. and superficial pyoderma in allergic cats and (ii) to characterise isolated staphylococci and analyse their antimicrobial resistance patterns.
Animals:
Forty-one cats with allergic dermatitis and superficial pyoderma in Italy.
Materials And Methods:
Skin swabs were cultured for the isolation of Staphylococcus spp. Species identification was performed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry and 16S-rRNA sequencing. Staphylococcus aureus isolates were further characterised by staphylococcal protein A gene-typing. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by the disk diffusion method.
Results:
Staphylococci were isolated from 36/41 cats sampled and 39 different isolates were identified. Uneven distribution of staphylococcal species was observed among different body locations. The 39 isolates were S. aureus (n = 15), S. felis (n = 10), S. pseudintermedius (n = 8) and other staphylococci (n = 6). Eight different S. aureus spa-types associated with human clonal complexes were identified. Antimicrobial resistance was observed to penicillin (56.4%), tetracycline (46.2%), enrofloxacin (33.3%), erythromycin (28.2%), amikacin (25.6%), clindamycin (23.1%), marbofloxacin (15.4%), gentamicin (12.8%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (10.3%), chloramphenicol (7.7%) and cefoxitin/oxacillin (5.1%). Fifteen isolates (38.4%) were multidrug-resistant while meticillin resistance was associated only with S. pseudintermedius.
Conclusions And Clinical Relevance:
These results confirm that S. aureus, S. pseudintermedius, and S. felis are frequently associated with superficial pyoderma in allergic cats. Semi-synthetic penicillins remain a suitable first-line treatment in this study, yet the high prevalence of antimicrobial resistant isolates suggests that antimicrobial susceptibility testing should be performed routinely.
