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Prevalence and distribution of meticillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment and staff of a university veterinary clinic
Author(s) -
Heller J.,
Armstrong S. K.,
Girvan E. K.,
Reid S. W. J.,
Moodley A.,
Mellor D. J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of small animal practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1748-5827
pISSN - 0022-4510
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-5827.2008.00695.x
Subject(s) - staphylococcus aureus , medicine , meticillin , confidence interval , veterinary medicine , micrococcaceae , distribution (mathematics) , staphylococcal infections , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , biology , mathematical analysis , genetics , mathematics
O bjectives :To characterise the distribution of meticillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus within the environment of a university small animal hospital and compare this with the distribution among staff.M ethods :Samples were collected from 140 environmental sites and the anterior nares of 64 staff members at the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital on a single day (d1). Sixty of the environmental sites were resampled 14 days later (d14).R esults :Meticillin‐resistant S aureus was isolated from two of 140 (1·4 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 1·7 to 5·1) environmental sites on d1 and one of 60 (1·7 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0·4 to 8·9) on d14. Two of the 64 staff sampled were positive for meticillin‐resistant S aureus (3·1 per cent; 95 per cent confidence interval: 0·4 to 8·4).C linical S ignificance :A lower prevalence of meticillin‐resistant S aureus was observed in the environment than previously reported. The location, relatedness between isolates and the presence of Panton‐Valentine leucocidin indicates that the source of the environmental meticillin‐resistant S aureus was most likely to have been human rather than animal in these cases. This study presents important information regarding the potential source and distribution of meticillin‐resistant S aureus within veterinary hospital environments and highlights potential variability of prevalence of meticillin‐resistant S aureus within and between veterinary institutions.