Förekomst av meticillinresistenta Staphylococcus spp. i djursjukhusmiljö med fokus på smådjursklinik

Abstract: Staphylococci are common and important bacteria within veterinary medicine. Two of the most important species are Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. The bacteria can cause skin infections, wound infections and urinary tract infections, but can also be a part of the normal flora of the skin and mucosa of healthy animals and humans. Resistance among bacteria are an increasing problem globally, also among staphylococci. Several studies have demonstrated the existence of methicillin resistant staphylococci in the environment at small animal clinics, equine clinics and within human health care facilities. Both MRSA and MRSP has been proven to exist in the environment in small animal clinics. The existence of methicillin resistant staphylococci in the environment has been connected to presence of infections with methicillin resistant staphylococci amongst the patients, making it an important factor to surveillance and control in the environment of health care facilities. This study is a follow up after a study by Gustafsson (2010) where the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci in the environment of the small animal clinic at the veterinary teaching hospital in Uppsala, Sweden (UDS) were examined. Since then the clinic has moved to new facilities and the knowledge about methicillin resistant staphylococci has increased. The aim of this study is to examine the presence of methicillin staphylococci at the small animal clinic at UDS and examine if there is a connection between the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci and the localisation. In the study 68 environmental samples were taken and classified as either human contact surfaces or animal contact surfaces. The bacteria were cultured on blood agar plate, MAST agar plate and chromogenic agar plate. The identification of bacteria was made with MALDI-TOF. One isolate from each sampling site were analysed using PCR regarding presence of the nuc, mecA, mecC, or PVL genes. S. aureus were present in 41 of 68 samples and S. pseudintermedius in three of 68 samples. All the S. aureus isolates carried the nuc gene, but none of the S. pseudintermedius carried the nuc gene, which was expected. Neither mecA, mecC nor PVL could be detected in any of the samples, thus excluding the presence of any methicillin resistant staphylococci. In conclusion no methicillin resistant staphylococci could be detected in the environment of the small animal clinic at UDS. However, to exclude the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci in the environment, further sampling will be needed. No significant correlation was established between the location and presence of staphylococci.