ABSTRACT
Oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus (OS-MRSA) isolates have been described worldwide, but data regarding dogs and their owners have not been reported. This study investigated the occurrence of OS-MRSA and MRSA isolates in the nasal mucosa of 241 healthy dogs and 208 owners in the community. S. aureus isolates were characterized by susceptibility testing, detection of the mecA and the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes, staphylococcal chromosome cassette (SCC)mec typing and rep-PCR-RW3A. We report an unprecedented detection of nasal carriage of OS-MRSA in 5.3 % (2/38) of healthy dogs and 1.75 % (1/57) of their owners. We also found MRSA in 2.6 % (1/38) of the dogs and 3.5 % (2/57) of the owners. Only the human isolate was SCCmec IV and PVL-positive. Molecular typing revealed that the same cluster of S. aureus was present in owners and dogs from the same or different families attended at the same veterinary clinic. The three OS-MRSA isolates did not show genetic similarity to each other. Detection of OS-MRSA in this context alerts us to the role of dogs and owners as possible silent reservoirs of this microorganism in the community, which may potentially be misidentified as methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) in the laboratory routine, representing an additional threat in antimicrobial therapy for staphylococcal infections.
