Search

The aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic and genotypic diversity and anti-microbial resistance among staphylococci of dairy herds that originated from Paraiba State, north-eastern Brazil, a region where such studies are rare. Milk samples ( n = 552) were collected from 15 dairy farms. Isolates were evaluated for anti-microbial susceptibility by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Confirmation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was performed using multiplex PCR targeting mecA and nuc genes in addition to phenotypic assay based on PBP-2a latex agglutination. Clonal relatedness of isolates was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) genotyping. Staphylococci were detected in 269 (49%) of the samples. Among these, 65 (24%) were S. aureus. The remaining 204 isolates were either coagulase-negative staphylococci ( n = 188; 70%) or coagulase positive other than S. aureus ( n = 16; 6%). Staphylococci were cultured in seven (35%) of the 20 hand swab samples, from which five isolates were S. aureus. The isolates were most commonly resistant against penicillin (43%), ampicillin (38%) and oxacillin (27%). The gene mecA was detected in 21 S. aureus from milk and in one isolate from a milker's hand. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin. PFGE findings showed high clonal diversity among the isolates. Based on MLST, we identified a total of 11 different sequence types ( STs 1, 5, 6, 83, 97, 126, 1583, 1622, 1623, 1624 and 1625) with four novel STs ( ST1622- ST1625). The findings show that MRSA is prevalent in milk from semi-extensive dairy cows in north-eastern Brazil, and further investigation on its extent in various types of milk production systems and the farm-to-table continuum is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of pathogens associated with subclinical intramammary infections on yield, composition and quality indicators of goat milk. By means of a longitudinal study, individual half udder milk samples (n = 132) were collected at different lactation periods and assessed for milk yield and physicochemical composition, somatic cell count (SCC), total bacteria count (TBC) and microbiological culture. Staphylococci species accounted for the great majority of the isolates (96.1%). Intramammary infections significantly reduced fat and total solids in goat milk and increased both SCC and TBC. However, these indicators were significantly higher in udder halves affected by S. aureus compared with other staphylococci species.

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance pose a threat to public health globally. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes can disseminate among environments, animals and humans. Therefore, investigation into potential reservoirs of multidrug-resistant bacteria is of great importance to the understanding of putative transmission routes of resistant bacteria and resistance genes. This study aimed to report the occurrence of Escherichia coli harboring the Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-producing gene ( bla KPC ) in Psittaciformes rescued from wildlife trafficking in Paraíba State, Brazil. Cloacal swabs were collected from thirty birds and cultured by conventional microbiology using MacConkey and serum tryptone glucose glycerol (STGG) media supplemented with selective antimicrobials. E. coli isolates (n = 43) were identified by phenotypic tests and confirmed by MALDI-TOF. Antimicrobial susceptibility profiles were determined by means of Kirby-Bauer test. All isolates were further screened for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production, and putative genes encoding ESBL were investigated by PCR. Additionally, bla KPC -harboring strains were genotyped by REP-PCR. A total of 43 E. coli phenotypically resistant isolates were recovered. The highest resistance rate was observed against ciprofloxacin. Among the resistance genes, only bla KPC was found in seven different birds from three species. According to the genotyping, these seven isolates belonged to four different strains. To date, this is the first report on the occurrence of KPC- E. coli in Psittaciformes rescued from trafficking in Northeastern Brazil. Due to the high clinical importance of KPC- E. coli , our findings suggest that wild animals in captivity at wildlife rescue centers can play a role as reservoirs of bacteria that are resistance to Critically Important antimicrobials in human medicine.

Objectives: Considering that polymyxin is a drug of last resort in the treatment of humans infected by multidrug-resistant bacteria, the occurrence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mcr gene among Gram-negative bacteria in foods must be investigated. We present herein the draft genome sequence of a phenotypically colistin-resistant Escherichia coli carrying mcr-1 in chicken carcasses from a public market., Methods: Total genomic DNA from the strain was sequenced by means of the Illumina MiSeq. The assembled contigs were annotated and manually curated. In silico analyses were performed to detect significant epidemiologic (serotyping and MLST) and structural features related plasmids identification, virulence and resistome., Results: The ST359 E. coli strain presented a conserved 747 bp mcr-1 gene within a 9431 kb contig compatible with the IncX4 plasmid, which has been identified as a key vector for the global dissemination of mcr determinants among Enterobacteriacea. Other genes encoding for multidrug resistance such as bla CTX-M-2 and bla TEM-1B , and the virulence factors astA, cma, gad, iroN, ipfA, mchF were also detected., Conclusion: We reported a draft genome of a colistin-resistant E. coli ST359 associated with an IncX4 plasmid containing the gene mcr-1. The genomic data can be useful in epidemiological and evolutionary investigations on the spread of colistin-resistance among Enterobacteriacea in the food chain., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Staphylococcus aureus is considered a major pathogen in veterinary and human medicine, and the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains, such as livestock-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus, means that reliable, inexpensive, and fast methods are required to identify S. aureus obtained from animal sources. We tested the accuracy of a PCR targeting the genes femA, nuc, and coa in identifying S. aureus from animals. A total of 157 Staphylococcus spp. isolates were examined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry; 18 different Staphylococcus species were identified. Of 68 S. aureus isolates, the genes femA, nuc, and coa were found in 61, 53, and 32 isolates, respectively. Considering MALDI-TOF as the gold standard, the PCR assays targeting all 3 genes showed 100% specificity; the sensitivity values were 89.7, 77.9, and 47.0% for femA, nuc, and coa, respectively. Sensitivity was 100% when femA and nuc markers were targeted simultaneously. These results confirm PCR as an accurate method to identify S. aureus species from animal sources and strongly suggest the simultaneous use of primers targeting femA and nuc genes.

Background: Minimal structure is required for effective prevention of health care-associated infection (HAI). The objective of this study was to evaluate the structure for prevention of HAI in a sample of Brazilian hospitals., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study from hospitals in 5 Brazilian regions (n = 153; total beds: 13,983) classified according to the number of beds; 11 university hospitals were used as reference for comparison. Trained nurses carried out the evaluation by using structured forms previously validated. The evaluation of conformity index (CI) included elements of structure of the Health Care-Associated Prevention and Control Committee (HAIPCC), hand hygiene, sterilization, and laboratory of microbiology., Results: The median CI for the HAIPCC varied from 0.55-0.94 among hospital categories. Hospitals with >200 beds had the worst ratio of beds to sinks (3.9; P < .001). Regarding alcoholic product for handrubbing, the worst ratio of beds to dispensers was found in hospitals with <50 beds (6.4) compared with reference hospitals (3.3; P < .001). The CI for sterilization services showed huge variation ranging from 0.0-1.00. Reference hospitals were more likely to have their own laboratory of microbiology than other hospitals., Conclusion: This study highlights the need for public health strategies aiming to improve the structure for HAI prevention in Brazilian hospitals., (Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To investigate the clonal diversity of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated at João Pessoa, State of Paraíba, Brazil, digested genomic DNA were studied by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in nine methicillin-resistant strains (MRSA) and three methicillin-sensitive strains (MSSA), selected among 67 isolates based on their antimicrobial susceptibility and epidemiology. The isolates were obtained between April and November 1992 from the Hospital of the Federal University of Paraíba, located in João Pessoa. Two MRAS isolates from the Oswaldo Cruz Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil, including an epidemic strain previously detected from different hospitals at the country were used as control. Five different patterns, were demonstrated by MRSA isolated in João Pessoa and these patterns were described in several epidemiologically unrelated hospitals in São Paulo. Our results suggest the interstate dissemination of a MRSA clone in João Pessoa which is similar to that described in other cities of Brazil.