S. aureus and animals:

something wicked this way comes

Tara C. Smith Associate Professor

Kent State University Kent, OH

Disclosures

• Funding from AHRQ, NIOSH, USDA, National Pork Board, NIEHS

Overview and Outline

• Introduction to S. aureus

• Species affected

• Transmission routes

• Why does it matter?

MRSA

• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

• Gram positive bacterium

• Leading cause of hospital-associated infections in humans

• ~30% of population carries a strain of S. aureus

• ~1.5% colonized with MRSA • 18,000 deaths, 94,000 infections from

MRSA in 2005 • Single MRSA surgical site infection:

$60,000

Ann Intern Med 2006, 144, (5), 318-25. J Infect Dis 2006, 193, (2), 172-9. J Infect Dis 2008;197:1226-34.

MRSA

Noah’s ark of S. aureus

• Hospital-associated

• Community-associated

• Livestock-associated

http://www.cs.rochester.edu/research/vision/people/vision_people.jpg

Pets

Cats & Dogs

• 0-9% colonization with MRSA

Loeffler 2005, 2010; Baptiste 2005; Hanselman 2009

http://the-best-top-desktop-wallpapers.blogspot.com/2010/12/dog-wallpapers.html, http://www.helpinghomelesscats.com/

Horses

• 0-11% MRSA colonization; can be higher on some farms

Weese 2006; Weese and Lefebvre 2007; Cuny 2008 http://www.bangstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/horses208.jpg

http://taylorlifescience.pbworks.com/f/1266511756/hamster%201.jpg

Food animals

Cattle

• MRSA first described in cattle in 1972 • Surveillance 0-28% MRSA prevalence • “LA-MRSA” (ST398) & other types

http://www.richardbealblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/22.jpg Weese et al 2009; Juhasz-Kaszanyitzky 2007; Kwon 2005

Pigs • Identification of “LA-

MRSA” (ST398) in pigs, 2004, Netherlands

• MRSA colonization 0-100%; clinical infections rare in pigs

Smith 2009; Smith 2013; Khanna 2007; de Neeling 2007; van Duijkeren 2008

http://sp.life123.com/bm.pix/pig1.s600x600.jpg

Poultry

• Limited surveillance • “LA” and “HA” clones

http://californiachickens.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/chickens.jpeg

Nemati 2008, Persoons 2009, Hasman 2010

Why does this matter?

Reservoir

Sing 2008, Lefebvre 2009

Transmission via food

• Food as a vehicle

Previous studies

• Studies done in many countries • MRSA prevalence in products ranges from

0%-11.9% • Most “LA”/ST398 (esp. European studies) • Others mixed: human & “LA” strains

found

deBoer 2009, Weese 2010, Waters 2011, Hanson 2011, O’Brien 2012, Pu 2009, Bhargava 2011

S. aureus in raw meats

Hanson et al, Journal of Infection and Public Health 2011

O’Brien et al., PLoS ONE 2012

Thapalilya et al., unpublished data

Other studies

• Waters et al., 2011. 136 meat samples (Chicago, DC, Ft. Lauderdale, LA, Flagstaff), 47% S. aureus positive, 2.2% MRSA prevalence.

• Pu et al., 2009. Louisiana. 120 samples; 46% SA positive, 5% MRSA prevalence.

• Bhargava et al., 2011. Detroit. 289 samples, 22.5% SA positive, 2.1% MRSA prevalence.

• Bhargava et al. (Detroit)

Waters et al. (multiple urban areas)

Pu et al. (Louisiana)

Hanson et al. (Iowa)

O’Brien et al. (New Jersey, Iowa, Minnesota)

Farm vs Food prevalence

• Smith et al 2013: MRSA prevalence Iowa CAFO pigs: 20%. MRSA Iowa ABF farms: 0%.

• O’Brien et al 2012: Meat products, conventional: 6.3%; ABF 7.4%

• Contamination @ intermediate steps?

“non LA” S. aureus in pigs?

Bacterial evolution

• Better understanding of host adaptation & pathogenesis?

Molecular Epidemiology

• Blurring lines between HA/CA/LA MRSA

• U.S. pigs—ST398 (“LA”), ST5 (“HA”), ST8 (“CA”)—what is “LA-MRSA” in the United States?

Meanwhile…

Identification of mecC

CC97: bovine origin

Conclusions

• Many animals can be colonized and/or infected with S. aureus

• Surveillance barely scratches the surface

• Little known about overall ecology

• Bi-directional host jumps possible

Additional picture credits

Slide 8: http://www.corymorgan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/evil_dog.jpg; http://wp.patheos.com/blogs/unreasonablefaith/files/2009/05/cat-evil.jpg; http://www.outsideleft.com/i/stars/halloweenpet5.jpg Slide 1: http://ideasareimmortal.doubteverything.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/animal-farm.jpg; Slide 12: http://knowmybody.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/evil_cows.jpg; http://farm1.static.flickr.com/121/274050115_d86b3d196a.jpg; http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv4uacJdz81qi5zdv.jpg Slide 16: http://www.mattcredible.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/evil-dolphin.jpg; http://cdn2.damnfunnypictures.com/4tzr189-PureEvilBunny001.jpg; http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/097/6/4/evil_turtle_ii_by_kingmonster656-d3dflus.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Big-eared-townsend-fledermaus.jpg/240px-Big-eared-townsend-fledermaus.jpg; http://www.naturalheritage.com/!userfiles/boxturtle2.jpg; http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg/240px-07._Camel_Profile,_near_Silverton,_NSW,_07.07.2007.jpg; http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Donkey_1_arp_750px.jpg/250px-Donkey_1_arp_750px.jpg; http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/spottedtilapia/stilapia.JPG; http://a-z-animals.com/media/animals/images/470x370/ferret.png; http://www.grit.com/uploadedImages/GRT/articles/issues/2010-01-01/Grt-JF10-goats-kid-i.jpg; http://www.animalspedia.com/wallpaper/His-Royal-Highness---Lion/; http://www.rebsig.com/capybara/capy10.jpg