A shared population of epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus 15 circulates in humans and companion animals.

ABSTRACT:

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a global human health problem causing infections in both hospitals and the community. Companion animals, such as cats, dogs, and horses, are also frequently colonized by MRSA and can become infected. We sequenced the genomes of 46 multilocus sequence type (ST) 22 MRSA isolates from cats and dogs in the United Kingdom and compared these to an extensive population framework of human isolates from the same lineage. Phylogenomic analyses showed that all companion animal isolates were interspersed throughout the epidemic MRSA-15 (EMRSA-15) pandemic clade and clustered with human isolates from the United Kingdom, with human isolates basal to those from companion animals, suggesting a human source for isolates infecting comp

SUBMITTER: Harrison EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4030480 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature