Isolation of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sequence type (ST) 30 from house rats (Rattus tanezumi) in Hong Kong.
Theethawat Uea-Anuwong,
Roger Stephan,
Marc J.A. Stevens,
Sara Boss,
Kittitat Lugsomya,
Lam Hoi Kiu,
Maedeh Kamali,
Yrjö Tapio Gröhn,
Omid Nekouei,
Ioannis Magouras
Affiliations
Theethawat Uea-Anuwong
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Roger Stephan
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Marc J.A. Stevens
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Sara Boss
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Kittitat Lugsomya
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Lam Hoi Kiu
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Maedeh Kamali
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Yrjö Tapio Gröhn
Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
Omid Nekouei
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Ioannis Magouras
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China; Veterinary Public Health Institute, Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Corresponding author at: Veterinary Public Health Institute, Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is of major public health concern due to its resistance to multiple antibiotics. This resistance has been observed in various settings, including hospitals and communities, and has been detected in both animals and humans. Although peridomestic rat species (Rattus spp.) are well described reservoirs of several human pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria, little is known about their role in MRSA epidemiology. In order to investigate whether Rattus spp. in Hong Kong are potential carriers of MRSA, 221 rats were caught from various ecological areas and nasopharyngeal samples were cultured on MRSA selective media. Genotypic characteristics of MRSA were confirmed by whole genome sequencing. Two clonal sequence type (ST) 30 MRSA isolates, harbouring mecA on staphylococcal chromosome cassette (SCC) mec type IVc, were cultured from two house rats (Rattus tanezumi) caught in two densely populated urban areas. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first detection of community-associated (CA)-MRSA strain ST30 SCCmec IVc in peridomestic rodents in Hong Kong and globally. Our finding indicates that house rats can be carriers of MRSA strains that are widely distributed in the community.
