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Unlabelled: Antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci have been associated with wounded or ill companion animals, but little is known about the prevalence of resistant staphylococci among healthy animals. In this study, 276 healthy dogs and cats from veterinary clinics were tested for the presence of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcus spp. Isolates were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of select resistance genes, and typed using Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius were also characterized using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing and SCCmec typing. Approximately 5% (14/276) of the animals were positive by enrichment for five species of staphylococci [Staph. aureus (n = 11), Staph. pseudintermedius (n = 4), Staphylococcus sciuri (n = 6), Staphylococcus simulans (n = 1) and Staphylococcus warneri (n = 1)]. Seventy-eight per cent (18/23) of staphylococci were resistant to oxacillin and also multidrug resistant (resistance to ≥ 2 antimicrobials). All Staph. aureus isolates were mecA+ and blaZ+, SCCmec type II, spa type t002, ST5 and clonal using PFGE. Staphylococcus pseudintermedius were SCCmec type IV or V, spa type t06 and ST170; two of the isolates were pvl(+) . These results suggest that healthy companion animals may be a reservoir of multidrug-resistant staphylococci, which may be transferred to owners and others who handle companion animals., Significance and Impact of the Study: In this study, antimicrobial-resistant coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive staphylococci were isolated from various body sites on healthy dogs and cats. Resistance to 14 antimicrobials was observed including resistance to oxacillin; the majority of staphylococci were also multidrug resistant. Results from this study suggest that healthy dogs and cats may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria that may be transferred to people by simple interaction with the animals. Such carriage poses an underlying risk of infection, which should be considered during handling of healthy dogs and cats by pet owners and veterinary personnel., (© 2014 The Society for Applied Microbiology. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA.)

Aims: In this study, mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and genetic relatedness among resistant enterococci from dogs and cats in the United States were determined., Methods and Results: Enterococci resistant to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, lincomycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin and tetracycline were screened for the presence of 15 antimicrobial resistance genes. Five tetracycline resistance genes [tet(M), tet(O), tet(L), tet(S) and tet(U)] were detected with tet(M) accounting for approx. 60% (130/216) of tetracycline resistance; erm(B) was also widely distributed among 96% (43/45) of the erythromycin-resistant enterococci. Five aminoglycoside resistance genes were also detected among the kanamycin-resistant isolates with the majority of isolates (25/36; 69%) containing aph(3')-IIIa. The bifunctional aminoglycoside resistance gene, aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia, was detected in gentamicin-resistant isolates and ant(6)-Ia in streptomycin-resistant isolates. The most common gene combination among enterococci from dogs (n = 11) was erm(B), aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia, aph(3')-IIIa, tet(M), while tet(O), tet(L) were most common among cats (n = 18). Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), isolates clustered according to enterococcal species, source and antimicrobial gene content and indistinguishable patterns were observed for some isolates from dogs and cats., Conclusion: Enterococci from dogs and cats may be a source of antimicrobial resistance genes., Significance and Impact of the Study: Dogs and cats may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes that can be transferred from pets to people. Although host-specific ecovars of enterococcal species have been described, identical PFGE patterns suggest that enterococcal strains may be exchanged between these two animal species.