SCCmec typing of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from the urine samples of apparently healthy dogs in Isfahan

Since Staphylococcus aureus is the main pathogen of Staphylococcus and causes various hospital-acquired infections including urinary tract infections, it is of value to examine resistance patterns of this organism, methicillin-resistance in particular. This study was aimed to examine the antibiotic resistance patterns of Staphylococcus aureus strains separated from urine samples of apparently healthy dogs in Isfahan.

200 urine samples (20 ml) were taken from apparently healthy dogs in different clinics and kennels of Isfahan, collected in sterile urine containers and examined through microbial and molecular cultures. After the isolates were molecularly approved, the simple disk diffusion test and PCR were used to determine antibiotic resistance patterns, and cassette chromosomes of mecA genes, respectively.

Among the samples, 23 (11.5%) were infected with Staphylococcus aureus and exhibited 16srRNA genes in PCR. Their antibiotic resistance patterns were detected by CLSI based antibiogram. All the examined isolates showed multiple antibiotic resistance, among which penicillin (95.65%) and tetracyclin (91.30%) were the highest; whereas, the lowest resistance related to nitrofurantoin (34.78%). 73.91% of the isolates included mecA genes, with Sccmec III being the most frequent cassette chromosome, in methicillin-resistant isolates (47.05%).

The prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus strains, resistant to a broad spectrum of first-choice and second-choice antibiotics, indicates the spread of these strains in dog population. Therefore, the treatment of choice should be selected based on antibiogram results.