Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonisation and infection in Thoroughbred racehorses and veterinarians in Japan.
Authors: Kuroda T, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Shinzaki Y, Tamura N, Hobo S, Kuwano A
Journal: The Veterinary record
Summary
# Editorial Summary MRSA infections in hospitalised Thoroughbred racehorses at Japanese training centres prompted investigation into whether veterinary staff might be acting as a reservoir for the pathogen. Researchers screened nasal swabs from 600 healthy racehorses, 53 veterinarians and 16 office staff at two affected facilities, subsequently genotyping any MRSA isolates using SCCmec typing, multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to identify strain relationships. Whilst healthy horses and office staff remained MRSA-negative, 30.1% of veterinarians carried MRSA nasally; critically, 62.5% of these isolates matched the SCCmec type II/ST5 strain found in hospitalised horses, with genetic analysis confirming identity or near-identity between veterinary and equine isolates. This bidirectional transmission pattern underscores the risk posed by occupational colonisation in clinical staff and highlights the importance of rigorous hand hygiene, protective equipment protocols and screening procedures in equine hospitals, particularly given the therapeutic challenges presented by meticillin-resistant infections in compromised horses.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Veterinarians working with hospitalised racehorses may be significant reservoirs for MRSA transmission; enhanced hygiene protocols and screening may be warranted in equine hospital settings
- •MRSA colonisation in veterinary staff poses an infection control risk and suggests bidirectional transmission between personnel and hospitalised horses is possible
- •Specific MRSA strains (SCCmec type II, ST5) circulating in equine hospital populations may be maintained through veterinarian-horse contact, emphasising the importance of staff hygiene measures
Key Findings
- •MRSA was isolated from 16 of 53 veterinarians (30.1%) but from 0 of 600 healthy Thoroughbred racehorses and 0 of 16 office staff
- •10 of 16 MRSA strains (62.5%) from veterinarians were SCCmec type II and ST5, genetically identical or very similar to 9 strains from hospitalised infected horses
- •SCCmec type II and ST5 MRSA strains were likely transmitted between veterinarians and infected horses at the two training centre hospitals