Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Canine and Human Staphylococcus aureus Collected in Saskatoon, Canada

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causes of infection in people and is increasingly recognized in dogs. The increasing prevalence of methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is complicating the treatment of these infections. Panton Valentine leukocidin (PVL), a toxin involved in the pathogenesis of necrotic syndromes in people may be partially responsible for the rise of MRSA. Canine and human S. aureus from the same geographic area are genetically similar, indicating a common population and likely transmission. The implications of increasing antimicrobial resistance complicated by interspecies transmission, necessitates including both dogs and humans in S. aureus resistance surveillance studies. A collection of 126 S. aureus isolates from people (n = 99) and dogs (n = 27) were included, minimum inhibitor concentrations to a panel of 33 antimicrobials used in human and veterinary medicine were determined. No resistance to vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin or nitrofurantoin was found. A wide range of antibiograms were found; including resistance to 0-12 drugs (0-6 drug classes). Outstanding antibiograms included a canine MRSA resistant to rifampin and a human MRSA resistant to chloramphenicol. Inducible clindamycin resistance was found among 78% and 4% of canine and human MRSA and 17% and 25% of canine colonizing and human methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), respectively. Resistance to mupirocin was only found among human isolates including 20% of MRSA and 4% of MSSA. While no canine isolates were PVL positive, 39% of human MRSA and 2% of MSSA carried the gene. The bidirectional transmission of S. aureus between people and dogs necessitates the inclusion of isolates from both species in future studies.