Well made point at the end about thorough analysis of transmission routes
MRSA exhibiting ST398 may colonize and cause infections in humans and in certain animal species such as dogs, horses, and pigs. The isolation of MRSA ST398 showing the same characteristics from a wound infection in a dog and from nasal colonization of the staff of a veterinary practice where this dog had been treated suggests that interspecies transmission may occur. The differences in spa-types between the isolates containing the same PCR results for SCCmec can be explained by a single genetic event. Because isolates taken at the same time from nasal colonization in veterinary staff of the same practice exhibit either spa-type t011 or t034, this difference does not justify discrimination between the two types. Of particular concern was the subsequent detection of MRSA ST398 not only in outpatients but also in inpatients with ventilator-associated pneumonia in the same hospital unit at about the same time (Table).
Future recording of MRSA ST398 from infected and colonized humans (especially when detected by screening at admission to hospitals) will require a thorough analysis with respect to association with animals and routes of transmission. Tracing MRSA carriers among contacts should also include pet animals, horses, and other livestock. Because of the time and labor needed to complete MLST, spa-typing combined with BURP analysis of types is an efficient tool for recognizing this clonal lineage. Furthermore, detection of MRSA by appropriate methods should be implemented into antimicrobial resistance surveillance programs in veterinary medicine.
Prof Witte is head of the laboratory for nosocomial infections at the Robert Koch Institute, Wernigerode Branch. He also is a professor on the medical faculty of Magdeburg University.
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