title: Prevalence and antimicrogram of Staphylococcus intermedius group isolates from veterinary staff, companion animals, and the environment in veterinary hospitals in Korea.
abstract: The Staphylococcus intermedius bacterial group (SIG) includes 3 distinct genetically heterogenous species: S. intermedius, S. pseudintermedius, and S. delphini. This pathogen group is associated with many opportunistic skin and ear infections in companion animals. Human infections with S. intermedius and S. pseudintermedius isolates and the emergence of methicillin-resistant isolates have been recently reported, which emphasizes the importance of nationwide identification of SIG isolate prevalence and antibiotic resistance in veterinary clinics. In the present study, a total of 178 SIG isolates were obtained from veterinary staff (n  =  40), companion animals (n  =  115), and the local environment (n  =  23) in 8 Korean veterinary hospitals. Isolates were differentiated into 167 S. pseudintermedius (93.8%) and 11 S. intermedius (6.2%) isolates; S. delphini isolates were not identified. The most effective antibiotics against these isolates included amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, amikacin, nitrofloxacin, imipenem, and vancomycin; whereas ampicillin, penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole were not effective. Surprisingly, the 128 SIG isolates (71.9%) displayed multiple drug resistance (MDR) against 3 or more antibiotic classes. Out of 52 SIG isolates carrying the methicillin-resistance gene (mecA), only 34 (65.4%) were oxacillin-resistant, and 49 (94.2%) methicillin-resistant SIG were multidrug resistant. This finding suggests the presence of greater numbers of MDR phenotypes than other isolates (P < 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Daehak-dong, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jung-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Youn
authors.forename: Jang Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.forename: Hye Cheong
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Suk-Kyung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Yong Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002415:Cats; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D057805:Pets / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D057789:Staphylococcus intermedius / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial