Prevalence of livestock-associated MRSA in broiler flocks and risk factors for slaughterhouse personnel in The Netherlands.
To determine methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in poultry and slaughterhouse personnel, 40 Dutch broiler flocks, in six slaughterhouses and 466 personnel were sampled. Of the employees, 26 were positive (5.6%), indicating a higher risk of exposure when compared to the general Dutch population (0.1%). This risk was significantly higher for personnel having contact with live animals (5.2%) - especially hanging broilers on the slaughterline (20.0%) - than for all other personnel (1.9%). Conventional electric stunning conferred a significantly higher risk of MRSA carriage for employees than CO2 stunning (9.7% vs. 2.0%). A total of 405 broilers were sampled upon their arrival at the slaughterhouse, of which 6.9% were positive. These broilers originated from 40 Dutch slaughter flocks of which 35.0% were positive. MRSA contamination in the different compartments of slaughterhouses increased during the production day, from 8% to 35%. Of the 119 MRSA isolates, predominantly livestock-associated MRSA ST398 was found, although 27.7% belonged to ST9 (spa type t1430). There is an increased risk of MRSA carriage in personnel working at broiler slaughterhouses, particularly those having contact with live animals.
Mulders
M N
MN
Centre for Infectious Disease Control Netherlands (CIb), National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), NL-3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands. mick.mulders@rivm.nl
Haenen
A P J
AP
Geenen
P L
PL
Vesseur
P C
PC
Poldervaart
E S
ES
Bosch
T
T
Huijsdens
X W
XW
Hengeveld
P D
PD
Dam-Deisz
W D C
WD
Graat
E A M
EA
Mevius
D
D
Voss
A
A
Van De Giessen
A W
AW
D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000235:genetics
D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A