Relationship between virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus is the pathogen most often isolated from human skin infections, the leading cause of nosocomial infections, and one of the main causative agents of bovine mastitis worldwide. The pathogenicity of S. aureus infection is attributed to a wide array of virulence determinants rather than to any single one. In addition, different mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance also play an important role in the colonization of the host by this pathogen. The possibility of antimicrobial resistance genes exchange among different bacteria is of serious concern in livestock husbandry, as well as in the treatment of human staphylococci infections. Thus, the aims of this review were to summarize the literature on the role of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes of S. aureus from bovine mastitis, focusing on the association between these characteristics and its implications in public and animal health.