Uea-Anuwong Theethawat, Stephan Roger, Stevens Marc J A, Boss Sara, Lugsomya Kittitat, Kiu Lam Hoi, Kamali Maedeh, Gröhn Yrjö Tapio, Nekouei Omid, Magouras Ioannis
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
One Health. 2024 Jul 18;19:100861. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100861. eCollection 2024 Dec.
Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is of major public health concern due to its resistance to multiple antibiotics. This resistance has been observed in various settings, including hospitals and communities, and has been detected in both animals and humans. Although peridomestic rat species ( spp.) are well described reservoirs of several human pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria, little is known about their role in MRSA epidemiology. In order to investigate whether spp. in Hong Kong are potential carriers of MRSA, 221 rats were caught from various ecological areas and nasopharyngeal samples were cultured on MRSA selective media. Genotypic characteristics of MRSA were confirmed by whole genome sequencing. Two clonal sequence type (ST) 30 MRSA isolates, harbouring on staphylococcal chromosome cassette (SCC) type IVc, were cultured from two house rats () caught in two densely populated urban areas. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first detection of community-associated (CA)-MRSA strain ST30 SCC IVc in peridomestic rodents in Hong Kong and globally. Our finding indicates that house rats can be carriers of MRSA strains that are widely distributed in the community.
耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌（MRSA）因其对多种抗生素具有耐药性而成为主要的公共卫生问题。这种耐药性已在包括医院和社区在内的各种环境中被观察到，并且在动物和人类中均有发现。尽管家栖鼠类是几种人类病原体和抗菌药物耐药菌的已知储存宿主，但它们在MRSA流行病学中的作用却鲜为人知。为了调查香港的家栖鼠类是否为MRSA的潜在携带者，从各个生态区域捕获了221只大鼠，并在MRSA选择性培养基上培养鼻咽样本。通过全基因组测序确认了MRSA的基因型特征。从在两个人口密集的市区捕获的两只家鼠（褐家鼠）中培养出了两株携带葡萄球菌染色体盒式（SCC）IVc型mecA的克隆序列型（ST）30 MRSA分离株。据作者所知，这是在香港及全球范围内首次在家栖啮齿动物中检测到社区相关（CA）-MRSA菌株ST30 SCC IVc。我们的发现表明，家鼠可能是在社区中广泛传播的MRSA菌株的携带者。
