Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA carriage in three populations

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] A higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization has been reported in healthcare workers than in non-healthcare workers. We hypothesized that the prevalence of MRSA colonization is higher in people and pets in households with veterinary or human healthcare workers than in households without healthcare workers. Swab samples from humans and pets were cultured. Staphylococcus aureus were identified as methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) or MRSA based on mecA PCR. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to characterize relatedness of isolates harvested from colonized humans and pets in the same household. Complete sample sets were obtained from 586 households including 213 from non-healthcare, 211 from veterinary healthcare, and 162 from human healthcare households. The prevalence of MSSA and MRSA in humans was 21.5% (126/586) and 5.63% (33/586), respectively. In pets, the prevalence was 7.85% (46/586) and 3.41% (20/586), respectively. In < 1.0% (4/586) of households, the same strain of MRSA was found in both a person and a pet. No association was found in humans or pets between colonization with MSSA or MRSA and type of household. Pets colonized with S. aureus were as likely as people colonized with S. aureus to be colonized with MRSA. Colonization of a person and their pet with the same strain of MRSA was rare.