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Before an efficient control strategy for livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in pigs can be decided upon, it is necessary to obtain a better understanding of how LA-MRSA spreads and persists within a pig herd, once it is introduced. We here present a mechanistic stochastic discrete-event simulation model for spread of LA-MRSA within a farrow-to-finish sow herd to aid in this. The model was individual-based and included three different disease compartments: susceptible, intermittent or persistent shedder of MRSA. The model was used for studying transmission dynamics and within-farm prevalence after different introductions of LA-MRSA into a farm. The spread of LA-MRSA throughout the farm mainly followed the movement of pigs. After spread of LA-MRSA had reached equilibrium, the prevalence of LA-MRSA shedders was predicted to be highest in the farrowing unit, independent of how LA-MRSA was introduced. LA-MRSA took longer to spread to the whole herd if introduced in the finisher stable, rather than by gilts in the mating stable. The more LA-MRSA positive animals introduced, the shorter time before the prevalence in the herd stabilised. Introduction of a low number of intermittently shedding pigs was predicted to frequently result in LA-MRSA fading out. The model is a potential decision support tool for assessments of short and long term consequences of proposed intervention strategies or surveillance options for LA-MRSA within pig herds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcus aureus is presently regarded as an emerging zoonotic agent due to the spread of specific methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clones in pig farms. Studying the microbiota can be useful for the identification of bacteria that antagonize such opportunistic veterinary and zoonotic pathogen in animal carriers. The aim of this study was to determine whether the nasal microbiome of pig S. aureus carriers differs from that of non-carriers. The V3-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from nasal swabs of 44 S. aureus carriers and 56 non-carriers using the 454 GS FLX titanium system. Carriers and non-carriers were selected on the basis of quantitative longitudinal data on S. aureus carriage in 600 pigs sampled at 20 Danish herds included in two previous studies in Denmark. Raw sequences were analysed with the BION meta package and the resulting abundance matrix was analysed using the DESeq2 package in R to identify operational taxonomic units (OTUs) with differential abundance between S. aureus carriers and non-carriers. Twenty OTUs were significantly associated to non-carriers, including species with known probiotic potential and antimicrobial effect such as lactic acid-producing isolates described among Leuconostoc spp. and some members of the Lachnospiraceae family, which is known for butyrate production. Further 5 OTUs were significantly associated to carriage, including known pathogenic bacteria such as Pasteurella multocida and Klebsiella spp. Our results show that the nasal microbiome of pigs that are not colonized with S. aureus harbours several species/taxa that are significantly less abundant in pig carriers, suggesting that the nasal microbiota may play a role in the individual predisposition to S. aureus nasal carriage in pigs. Further research is warranted to isolate these bacteria and assess their possible antagonistic effect on S. aureus for the pursuit of new strategies to control MRSA in pig farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus sequence type ST398 has recently gained attention due to the spread of methicillin-resistant strains among people exposed to livestock. The aim of this study was to explore temporal changes in the population structure of S. aureus in pigs over the last 40 years with particular reference to the occurrence of ST398. Methods: We analysed a unique collection of 91 porcine strains isolated in six countries between 1973 and 2009 using a biotyping scheme described in the 1970's in combination with spa typing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The collection comprised 32 historical isolates from 1973–1974 (n = 19) and from 1991–2003 (n = 13), and 59 contemporary isolates from 2004–2009. The latter isolates represented the most common MLST types (ST1, ST9, ST97 and ST433) and spa types isolated from pigs in Europe. Results and Discussion: S. aureus sequence type ST398 was not found among old isolates from the 1970's or from 1991–2003, suggesting that this lineage was absent or present at low frequencies in pigs in the past. This hypothesis is supported by the observed association of ST398 with the ovine ecovar, which was not described in pigs by studies carried out in the 1970's. In addition, various phenotypic and genotypic differences were observed between old and contemporary isolates. Some biotypes commonly reported in pigs in the 1970's were either absent (human ecovar) or rare (biotype A) among contemporary isolates. Nine clonal lineages found among old porcine isolates are occasionally reported in pigs today (ST8, ST30, ST97, ST387, ST1092, ST2468) or have never been described in this animal host (ST12, ST133, ST1343). These results indicate that the population structure of porcine S. aureus has changed over the last 40 years and confirm the current theory that S. aureus ST398 does not originate from pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial adhesion is a crucial step in colonization of the skin. In this study, we investigated the differential adherence to human and pig corneocytes of six Staphylococcus aureus strains belonging to three human-associated [ST8 (CC8), ST22 (CC22) and ST36(CC30)] and two pig-associated [ST398 (CC398) and ST433(CC30)] clonal lineages, and their colonization potential in the pig host was assessed by in vivo competition experiments. Corneocytes were collected from 11 humans and 21 pigs using D-squame® adhesive discs, and bacterial adherence to corneocytes was quantified by a standardized light microscopy assay. A previously described porcine colonization model was used to assess the potential of the six strains to colonize the pig host. Three pregnant, S. aureus-free sows were inoculated intravaginally shortly before farrowing with different strain mixes [mix 1) human and porcine ST398; mix 2) human ST36 and porcine ST433; and mix 3) human ST8, ST22, ST36 and porcine ST398] and the ability of individual strains to colonize the nasal cavity of newborn piglets was evaluated for 28 days after birth by strain-specific antibiotic selective culture. In the corneocyte assay, the pig-associated ST433 strain and the human-associated ST22 and ST36 strains showed significantly greater adhesion to porcine and human corneocytes, respectively (p<0.0001). In contrast, ST8 and ST398 did not display preferential host binding patterns. In the in vivo competition experiment, ST8 was a better colonizer compared to ST22, ST36, and ST433 prevailed over ST36 in colonizing the newborn piglets. These results are partly in agreement with previous genetic and epidemiological studies indicating the host specificity of ST22, ST36 and ST433 and the broad-host range of ST398. However, our in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed an unexpected ability of ST8 to adhere to porcine corneocytes and persist in the nasal cavity of pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]