<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and Methicillin-Resistant Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci in Nostrils and Buccal Mucosa of Healthy Camels Used for Recreational Purposes
Vanessa Silva,
Manuela Caniça,
Vera Manageiro,
Newton Verbisck,
María Teresa Tejedor-Junco,
Margarita González-Martin,
Juan Alberto Corbera,
Patrícia Poeta,
Gilberto Igrejas
Affiliations
Vanessa Silva
Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Manuela Caniça
National Reference Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistances and Healthcare Associated Infections (NRL-AMR/HAI), Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Vera Manageiro
National Reference Laboratory of Antibiotic Resistances and Healthcare Associated Infections (NRL-AMR/HAI), Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Newton Verbisck
Embrapa Beef Cattle, Campo Grande 79106-550, Brazil
María Teresa Tejedor-Junco
Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Margarita González-Martin
Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Juan Alberto Corbera
Research Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Patrícia Poeta
Microbiology and Antibiotic Resistance Team (MicroART), Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Gilberto Igrejas
Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Several different species of animals host staphylococci as normal microbiota. These animals can be a source of staphylococci zoonotic infections. People with routine or occupational exposure to infected/colonized animals are at risk of a potential transmission. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the presence of S. aureus and other staphylococci in camels used for recreational purposes as well as their antimicrobial resistance, virulence factors and genetic lineages. A total of 172 samples were collected from 86 healthy camels (nose and mouth) from different farms located in the Canary Islands, Spain. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed against 14 antimicrobial agents. The presence of virulence genes was studied by PCR. Multilocus sequence typing, spa typing and agr typing were performed in all S. aureus isolates. From the 86 camels tested, 42 staphylococci were isolated, of which there were 11 S. aureus, 13 S. lentus, 12 S. sciuri, 3 S. xylosus, S. epidermidis, S. hominis and S. chromogenes. Staphylococci isolates were resistant to penicillin, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin and fusidic acid. All S. aureus isolates harbored the hla, hlb and hld virulence genes. S. aureus isolates were ascribed to three sequence types (STs) and three spa types. All S. aureus isolates belonged to agr type III. Camels from Gran Canaria used in recreational purposes have a moderate prevalence of S. aureus and other coagulase-negative staphylococci. Nevertheless, S. aureus isolates are susceptible to almost all antibiotics tested.
