The first outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cattle in Poland with evidence of on-farm and intrahousehold transmission

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a widely recognized pathogen responsible for many serious diseases in both humans and animals. It is also one of the major causative agents of bovine mastitis. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), although relatively rare in this pathology, has been increasingly reported in livestock animals, mainly in pigs, but also cattle, sheep, and poultry. The recent emergence of livestock-associated (LA-)MRSA is cause for an immediate public health concern due to the risk of zoonotic transmission to humans, and is of particular concern for people who work in animal husbandry or have prolonged contact with livestock animals. This study reports on the first LA-MRSA outbreak in dairy cattle and the first probable case of MRSA transmission between humans and cows in Poland. A single dairy farm located in Eastern Poland was monitored on a regular basis for the occurrence of mastitis. Over a 1-yr study period, 717 quarter-milk samples from 583 cows were collected and examined microbiologically. A total of 5 MRSA isolates from as many cows with subclinical mastitis were cultured. They all belonged to the same outbreak, given a 2-mo time window in which they were identified. During the outbreak, 24 oral and nasal swabs were voluntarily taken from 6 people: a milker, a veterinarian, and 4 members of the veterinarian's family. Eight swabs from a milker, veterinarian, and 2 family members yielded positive MRSA cultures. All MRSA isolates were genotyped with a combination of multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis, multilocus sequence typing, and staphylococcal protein A gene (spa) typing. Eleven bovine (n = 5; 5 cases) and human (n = 6; 4 cases) isolates showed an identical drug-susceptibility profile and were indistinguishable upon multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (pattern A), multilocus sequence typing (ST398) and spa (t034) typing. The results of this study provide the evidence of transmission of MRSA between humans and cows, and between humans in the family setting. This work, despite being a preliminary investigation, underscores the risk of intra- and interspecies transmission of LA-MRSA and urges enhancement of the existing biosecurity measures aimed at preventing MRSA (and other milk pathogens) spread at both the farm- and household levels.

Keywords: bovine mastitis; humans; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; outbreak; transmission.