title: A methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Sequence Type 8, spa type t11469 causing infection and colonizing horses in Italy.
abstract: A Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) was isolated in Italy from a pathological sample of a mare presenting chronic purulent sinusitis and that had undergone frontal-sinus surgery three months before. Humans, horses, dogs and environmental samples were subsequently collected at the mare's stable and at the Veterinary Hospital, where the mare was operated/hospitalized, and screened for the presence of MRSA that was detected from other horses and from the environment at both sites. All the MRSA isolates belonged to clonal complex (CC)8, ST8-t11469-SCCmec-IVa, and showed similar phenotypic and genetic multidrug resistance patterns and macrorestriction-pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles. The only MRSA detected from humans was a CC1, ST1-t127-SCCmec-IVa. This paper represents the first report of a clinical MRSA infection in a horse in Italy. This study also supports the opinion that improper use of antibiotics and hospitalization/surgery can represent risk factors for MRSA colonization/infection in horses, and that the environment is among important sources for exposure.
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carfora
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caprioli
authors.affiliation: Veterinary practitioner, Via Leonardo Bufalini 84, 00176, Italy.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grossi
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, Diagnostic and Clinic, University of Perugia, Via S. Costanzo, 4, 00126, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pepe
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alba
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lorenzetti
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amoruso
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sorbara
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Direzione Operativa Diagnostica Generale, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della, Toscana 'M. Aleandri', Via Appia Nuova 1411, 00178, Italy antonio.battisti@izslt.it.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Battisti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D005838:Genotype; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006736:Horses; D007558:Italy; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); clinical infection; environment; horses; molecular characterization; zoonosis