title: Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy sheep.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage of dairy sheep in farms producing cheeses manufactured with raw ewe's milk. The study showed that 29% of ewes carried S. aureus in their nares. The genetic diversity of the 136 isolates recovered from the anterior nares of the ewes, from the ambient air of the milking parlour and from cheeses was investigated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of DNA SmaI digests. The genotyping results showed that 75 out of 106 isolates recovered from nasal carriage in dairy sheep belonged to a dominant pattern (previously named OV) and a genetically related pattern (named OV'). The same profile (OV or OV') was found in the ambient air and cheeses, suggesting a continuum between isolates within these different compartments.
authors.affiliation: AFSSA (Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments), Unité de Pathologie des Petits Ruminants, BP111, 06902 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France. e.vautor@sohia.afssa.fr
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vautor
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abadie
authors.forename: J-M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Guibert
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chevalier
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pépin
mesh_terms: D000391:Air Microbiology; D000818:Animals; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial