Farm-specific lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus clonal complex 398 in Danish pig farms

Carmen Espinosa-Gongora, J. Larsen, Arshnee Moodley, Jens Peter Nielsen, R.L. Skov, Margit Andreasen, Luca Guardabassi

    10 Citations (Scopus)
    9 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Dust and pigs at five age groups were sampled in six Danish MRSA-positive pig farms. MRSA CC398 was isolated from 284 of the 391 samples tested, including 230 (74%) animal and 54 (68%) environmental samples. PFGE analysis of a subset of 48 isolates, including the six strains previously isolated from farm workers, revealed the existence of farm-specific pulsotypes. With a single exception, human, environmental and porcine isolates originating from the same farm clustered together in the PFGE cluster analysis, indicating that spread of MRSA CC398 in Danish pig farms is mainly due to clonal dissemination of farm-specific lineages that can be discriminated by PFGE. This finding has important implications for planning future epidemiological studies investigating the spread of CC398 in pig farming.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalEpidemiology and Infection
    Volume140
    Issue number10
    Pages (from-to)1794-1799
    Number of pages6
    ISSN0950-2688
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2012

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Farm-specific lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus clonal complex 398 in Danish pig farms'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this