Antimicrobial resistance and population structure of Staphylococcus aureus recovered from pigs farms

• A Staphylococcus aureus survey a was performed in pig farms randomly selected over Belgium.
• MRSA was detected in 215 farms out of 328 farms sampled.
• Most isolates belonged to CC398 (n = 211), and the remaining were ST9, ST80 or ST239.
• CC398 isolates carried diverse spa-types and antimicrobial resistance genes.
• The community-acquired MRSA ST80-IV PVL-positive European clone was found.

Staphylococcus aureus is a burden in human and veterinary medicine. During the last decade, an increasing number of studies reported the presence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 in pigs. During 2013, a survey was performed in pig farms (n = 328) randomly selected over Belgium, to monitor the current epidemiological situation of LA-MRSA among asymptomatic pigs and compare with former data to determine possible evolutions. Per farm, nose swabs were taken from 20 animals and pooled. MRSA was detected in 215 farms. Most isolates belonged to CC398 (n = 211), and the remaining were ST9/t337 (n = 1), ST80/t044 (n = 2) and ST239/t4150 (n = 1). A large diversity (n = 19) of spa-types was found in the CC398 isolates. More than 90% of the isolates were non-wild type (NWT) to tetracycline and trimethoprim. NWT isolates were also found for ciprofloxacin (61.1%), clindamycin (64.4%), erythromycin (57.8%), kanamycin (43.1%) and gentamicin (45.5%). Microarray analysis showed that most CC398 isolates carried genes encoding resistance to tetracycline [tet(M)], macrolide–lincosamide–streptogramin group [erm(B), erm(C), lnu(A), vga(A)], aminoglycosides (aacA-aphD,aa dD, aphA3, sat) and/or phenicols (fexA). One CC398 isolate carried the multi-resistance gene cfr. The non-CC398 isolates carried virulence genes, as the egc-like cluster. The ST80 strain carried the Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene and corresponded to the community-acquired (CA-)MRSA ST80-IV European clone. The MRSA prevalence among pigs in Belgium remains similar to previous studies but a larger diversity in spa-types has been detected in this study. The recovery of CA-MRSA from livestock indicates that one should remain vigilant to the evolution of LA-MRSA in pigs.