title: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in veterinary personnel.
abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from nares of 27/417 (6.5%) attendees at an international veterinary conference: 23/345 (7.0%) veterinarians, 4/34 (12.0%) technicians, and 0/38 others. Colonization was more common for large-animal (15/96, 15.6%) than small-animal personnel (12/271, 4.4%) or those with no animal patient contact (0/50) (p<0.001). Large-animal practice was the only variable significantly associated with colonization (odds ratio 2.9; 95% confidence interval 1.2-6.6). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified 2 predominant clones with similar distribution among veterinarians as previously reported for horses and companion animals. Canadian epidemic MRSA-2 (CMRSA) was isolated from 11 small-animal and 2 large-animal personnel from the United States (n = 12) and Germany (n = 1). In contrast, CMRSA-5 was isolated exclusively from large-animal personnel (p<0.001) in the United States (n = 10), United Kingdom (n = 2), and Denmark (n = 1). MRSA colonization may be an occupational risk for veterinary professionals.
authors.affiliation: Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. bhansel@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Hanselman
authors.forename: Steve A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kruth
authors.forename: Joyce
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.forename: Donald E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: Barbara M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Willey
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McGeer
authors.forename: J Scott
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Weese
mesh_terms: D017750:Animal Technicians; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018634:Veterinarians
chemical_list: D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins