Background: Diseases caused by livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are an important global public health concern, and MRSA is increasingly being isolated in bovine milk. However, information on the genotype and antimicrobial resistance of MRSA in bovine milk in Xinjiang is limited. The objective of this study was to determine the antimicrobial-susceptible phenotypes and genotypes of the circulating MRSA clone isolated in bovine mastits milk samples in Xinjiang, China.
Methods: Fifty six MRSA isolates collected from milk of bovine mastitis were investigated by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing, and a minimum inhibitory concentration test with 21 antimicrobial agents.
Results: Antibiotic resistance results showed that 47.4% of the isolates were resistant to 16 or more antibiotics. Twelve MLST types were defined in this study, and ST398 (n = 7) and ST2393 (n = 2) were found to be the most prevalent types. Seven spa types (t034, t269, t4030, t114, t35, t189, and t7589) were identified, of which t034 (n = 7), t189 (n = 3), and t4030 (n = 3) were predominant. Here, 3 MRSA ST188 is reported among human MRSA isolates in China, and this is the first time that it is reported in bovine MRSA strains.
Conclusions: The antimicrobial susceptibility of MRSA in this area exhibited multidrug resistance, and clonal complexes CC398 and CC188, which have been reported among human MRSA isolates, do occur in Xinjiang dairy cows. This study provides a foundation for further MRSA monitoring.
Keywords: MLST typing; MRSA; antimicrobial susceptibility; bovine milk; spa typing.