Explore the vast range of titles available.

The uncontrolled use of antibiotics has resulted in a relentless spread of multiresistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. There are studies conducted in medical colleges in Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai and Vellore comparing pyodermas in the community and hospital setting based on clinical and bacteriological parameters. This study, conducted over 1½ years from March 2009 to August 2010, aimed at analyzing the clinical spectrum and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of community and hospital-associated (HA) staphylococcal pyoderma. It also assessed the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in the community and hospital cohort settings. The study comprised of 200 cases of staphylococcal pyodermas, derived from the community (150 cases) and hospital (50 cases). Patients were evaluated based on their clinical presentation; antibiotic susceptibility was tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Statistical significance between individual attributes between the community and HA staphylococcal pyoderma groups was analyzed using Chi-square test and mean differences using student's t-test. Factors associated with community-associated (CA) pyodermas were young age (P = 0.0021), primary pyodermas, and involvement of extremities, while those with HA pyodermas were middle age, secondary pyodermas, and significantly increased body surface involvement (P = 0.041). Incidence of CA-MRSA was 11.3%, while that of HA-MRSA was 18%. A high level of resistance to first-line drugs such as penicillin, ciprofloxacin and cotrimoxazole was observed, more so in the hospital strain than in the community strain. S. aureus demonstrated good susceptibility to cephalosporins. Though the two strains of MRSA differed clinically, they showed 100% sensitivity to vancomycin and linezolid.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is the primary cause of canine pyoderma and has been associated with diseases in other animals, including human beings. A high prevalence of methicillin and multidrug resistance has been reported in this bacterium in some geographic regions of the United States. Multilocus sequence type (MLST) 68 was implicated, initially, as the major clonal genotype based on a limited number of samples. The objectives of this study were to determine the population genetics of S. pseudintermedius isolated from a cross-section of the United States using a seven-locus multilocus sequence typing method, to identify clonal complexes (CCs), and to correlate sequence types with antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. A total of 190 S. pseudintermedius with 86 different MLSTs were detected and the constituents of three major CCs of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP), CC68, CC71, and CC84, were identified. Different patterns of resistance were associated with each CC. CC71 from the United States had notable differences with CC71 studied on other continents with chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance. Some isolates with resistance to the broadest range of drugs tested, including that to chloramphenicol, had STs unrelated to the major CCs, suggesting the potential for the emergence of new clonal populations of MRSP that are resistant to most therapeutically useful antimicrobials.

Scabies is a WHO neglected tropical disease common in children in low- and middle-income countries. Excoriation of scabies lesions can lead to secondary pyoderma infection, most commonly by Staphyloccocus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus, GAS), with the latter linked to acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) and potentially rheumatic heart disease (RHD). There is a paucity of data on the prevalence of these skin infections and their bacterial aetiology from Africa. A cross-sectional study, conducted over a four-month period that included the dry and rainy season, was conducted to determine the prevalence of common skin infections in Sukuta, a peri-urban settlement in western Gambia, in children <5 years. Swabs from pyoderma lesions were cultured for S. aureus and GAS. Of 1441 children examined, 15.9% had scabies (95% CI 12.2-20.4), 17.4% had pyoderma (95% CI 10.4-27.7) and 9.7% had fungal infections (95% CI 6.6-14.0). Scabies was significantly associated with pyoderma (aOR 2.74, 95% CI 1.61-4.67). Of 250 pyoderma swabs, 80.8% were culture-positive for S. aureus, and 50.8% for GAS. Participants examined after the first rains were significantly more likely to have pyoderma than those examined before (aRR 2.42, 95% CI 1.38-4.23), whereas no difference in scabies prevalence was seen (aRR 1.08, 95% CI 0.70-1.67). Swab positivity was not affected by the season. High prevalence of scabies and pyoderma were observed. Pyoderma increased significantly during the rainy season. Given the high prevalence of GAS pyoderma among children, further research on the association with RHD in West Africa is warranted.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a major commensal bacterium of the skin and mucosae of dogs and an opportunistic agent responsible for several clinical infections, such as pyoderma, otitis, and surgical wound infections. The emergence of methicillin-resistant S . pseudintermedius (MRSP) has become a problem of great concern in veterinary and human medicine because it is multidrug resistant (MDR) and can also infect humans. This study aimed to identify the occurrence of Staphylococcus spp. in infected patients and investigate the antimicrobial resistance profiles and molecular structure of MRSP isolates. Samples were obtained from two different veterinary clinics; suggestive colonies were submitted to matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-ToF) mass spectrometry and confirmed at the species level by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sequencing of the 16S rRNA and rpoB genes were used in selected samples that were not identified by MALDI-ToF and by the species-specific PCR. Antimicrobial susceptibility and PCR detection of mecA were performed. MRSP isolates were subjected to multilocus sequence typing. Of all the clinical staphylococci (n = 131), 98 (74.8%) were identified as S . pseudintermedius . Multidrug resistance (resistance to ≥3 classes of antimicrobials) was observed in 63.2% of S . pseudintermedius isolates, and 24.5% of S . pseudintermedius isolates were methicillin-resistant. Half of the MRSP isolates were isolated from surgical site infections. Among the ten sequence types (ST) identified, nine were novel. ST71 was the most prevalent and associated with resistance to fluoroquinolones. Prior antimicrobial therapy, hospitalization, and surgical site infections seemed to be risk factors for MRSP acquisition. The present study showed a high rate of MDR staphylococci in infected dogs. MRSP was isolated from different clinical conditions, mainly surgical site infections. Additionally, this is the first study to extensively investigate the population structure of MRSP in Brazil, which revealed the dispersion of CC71 and nine novel ST. These findings raise concerns for both animal and human health due to the zoonotic potential of this species and limited therapeutic options available for MRSP infections.

Introduction Historical observations led to the development of 2 important diagnostic assays: the classic tube coagulase test (in which fibrinogen is converted to fibrin by staphylocoagulase or von Willebrand binding protein, i.e., “free coagulase”) and the slide coagulase assay (whereby fibrinogen is bound by clumping factor, i.e., “bound coagulase”) [1,2]. In one study, enriched with individuals involved in the veterinary profession (42.5% of study participants), the prevalence (nasal colonization) of S. pseudintermedius in humans living in a household with a dog or cat was 4.1% (by contrast, the prevalence of S. aureus in humans was 27.7%), with lack of handwashing after handling household pets significantly associated with colonization [8]. [...]Guardabassi and colleagues demonstrated that owners of dogs with pyoderma were more likely to be culture positive for S. pseudintermedius compared to persons without daily contact with dogs, but colonization was not documented at the time of a second sampling 2 months later, suggesting that long-term colonization is uncommon in humans (although dogs were treated with antimicrobials after the first sampling, and most no longer had purulent lesions at the second sampling) [13]. What is the basis for S. pseudintermedius pathogenicity? S. pseudintermedius virulence factors include cytotoxins, exfoliative toxins, superantigens, and cell wall–associated (CWA) proteins and are important in initiating and spreading infections such as SSTIs and evading the immune system, and many are orthologous to those elaborated by S. aureus [7,14,25,26].

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an opportunistic pathogen commonly associated with skin infections in dogs. Twenty-three methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) isolated in Argentina from dogs with pyoderma were analyzed using whole genome sequencing (WGS) and classified into sequence types (ST) by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec) types.Based on the WGS analysis, MLST, and SCCmec type results, we report for the first time in Argentina two MRSP strains, one each, belonging to ST71-SCCmec III and ST45-ΨSCCmec from dogs with pyoderma. We also identified seven isolates with ST339, which had been previously reported in only two isolates in Argentina. Additionally, we identified ten MRSP isolates harboring variants of the SCCmec V found in S. aureus, seven SCCmec V (5C2&5) with two ccrC1 recombinases, and three SCCmec V (5C2) with one ccrC1 recombinase.Our findings provide important insights into the evolution and geographic spread of these hypervirulent dominant clones that threaten the health of our companion animals and represent a significant risk for zoonotic infections.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a common commensal bacterium of dogs. It becomes an opportunistic pathogen when it evades the immune and exogenous antimicrobial control to cause pyoderma, otitis, and postoperative infections in dogs. The shift from colonization to invasive disease illustrates an interplay between bacterial virulence and host immune defense. S. pseudintermedius encodes adhesins, exoenzymes, and cytotoxins that facilitate attachment to epithelial surfaces, biofilm formation, and tissue invasion. The bacterium evades the host immune system through IgG-binding proteins, complement inhibition, NET degradation, and modulation of cytokine signaling therefore enabling persistent infection or recurrence, particularly in atopic or immunocompromised hosts. Given that mobile elements found in the genome of S. pseudintermedius may encode resistance and virulence genes, these factors may influence selection for lineages that are virulent and methicillin resistant. The animal host defends itself against S. pseudintermedius by keratinocyte inflammasome activation, neutrophil recruitment, and Th1/Th17 responses. Although these mechanisms drive bacterial clearance, they can cause tissue injury because of inflammation. Despite increased understanding of S. pseudintermedius pathogenesis, effective immunoprophylaxis remains elusive because of bacterial antigenic diversity. Recent research has identified conserved surface proteins and secreted toxins which can serve as candidate antigens for robust vaccine design. This review synthesizes current knowledge on S. pseudintermedius- host interactions, highlighting mechanisms of bacterial defense and evasion. Furthermore, we suggest gaps that warrant further research and outline strategies for immunotherapeutics and vaccines against canine staphylococcal infections.

The global burden of disease caused by group A streptococcus (GAS) is not known. We review recent population-based data to estimate the burden of GAS diseases and highlight deficiencies in the available data. We estimate that there are at least 517 000 deaths each year due to severe GAS diseases (eg, acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, and invasive infections). The prevalence of severe GAS disease is at least 18·1 million cases, with 1·78 million new cases each year. The greatest burden is due to rheumatic heart disease, with a prevalence of at least 15·6 million cases, with 282 000 new cases and 233 000 deaths each year. The burden of invasive GAS diseases is unexpectedly high, with at least 663 000 new cases and 163 000 deaths each year. In addition, there are more than 111 million prevalent cases of GAS pyoderma, and over 616 million incident cases per year of GAS pharyngitis. Epidemiological data from developing countries for most diseases is poor. On a global scale, GAS is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. These data emphasise the need to reinforce current control strategies, develop new primary prevention strategies, and collect better data from developing countries.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (S. pseudintermedius), found on dogs’ skin and mucous membranes, can act as an opportunistic pathogen causing skin, ear, and other tissue infections. Due to the possibility of zoonotic transmission of them, it is necessary to investigate the prevalence of S. pseudintermedius, especially the antimicrobial-resistant strains, in pets. In this study, the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance patterns, and biofilm formation ability of methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) were investigated and compared in 50 healthy dogs and 50 dogs with skin infections. The prevalence of S. pseudintermedius was not significantly different between healthy dogs (40%) and dogs with skin infections (50%). No significant difference was found in the prevalence of MRSP between healthy dogs (12%) and dogs with skin infections (18%). A total of 81.8% of S. pseudintermedius isolates were biofilm producers. The frequencies of antibiotic resistance (except for gentamicin), multidrug resistance (MDR), and biofilm formation ability were not significantly different between S. pseudintermedius isolates of healthy dogs and dogs with skin infections. The frequencies of resistance to penicillin and tetracycline, MDR, and biofilm production abilities were significantly higher among MRSP than methicillin-susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP). The frequency of oxacillin resistance was significantly higher among weak or moderate biofilm producers than non-biofilm producers. The frequency of resistance to erythromycin was significantly higher among moderate biofilm producers than non-biofilm producers or weak biofilm producers. High frequencies of biofilm-producer S. pseudintermedius isolates and their resistance to antibiotics can affect the success of treatment of infections caused by these strains.

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an important disease-causing bacterium in dogs and is recognized as a growing threat to human health. Due to increasing multidrug resistance, discovery of alternative methods for treatment of these infections is vital. Interference with one target for alternative treatment, the quorum sensing system agr , has demonstrated clinical improvement of infections in S. aureus animal models. In this study, we sequenced and characterized 160 clinical S. pseudintermedius isolates and their agr systems in order to increase understanding of the epidemiology of the agr group and clarify its associations with types of infection and antimicrobial resistance. We found that isolates with agr type II were significantly less common than other agr types in diseased dogs. This provides valuable information to veterinary clinical microbiologists and clinicians, especially as less research has been performed on infection associations of agr and its therapeutic potential in S. pseudintermedius than in S. aureus . Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an important canine pathogen implicated in an increasing number of human infections. Along with rising levels of methicillin and multidrug resistance, staphylococcal biofilms are a complicating factor for treatment and contribute to device, implant, and surgical infections. Staphylococcal virulence, including biofilm formation, is regulated in part by the quorum sensing accessory gene regulator system ( agr ). The signal molecule for agr , known as the autoinducing peptide molecule, contains polymorphisms that result in the formation of distinct groups. In S. pseudintermedius , 4 groups (i.e., groups I, II, III, and IV) have been identified but not comprehensively examined for associations with infection type, virulence factor carriage, or phylogenetic relationships—all of which have been found to be significant in S. aureus . In this study, 160 clinical canine isolates from Texas, including isolates from healthy dogs ( n  = 40) and 3 different infection groups (pyoderma, urinary tract, and surgical, n  = 40 each), were sequenced. The agr group, biofilm-producing capabilities, toxin gene carriage, antimicrobial resistance, and sequence type (ST) were identified for all isolates. While no significant associations were discovered among the clinical infection types and agr groups, agr II isolates were significantly less common than any other group in diseased dogs. Furthermore, agr II isolates were less likely than other agr groups to be multidrug resistant and to carry toxin genes expA and sec-canine . Fifty-two (33%) of the 160 isolates were methicillin resistant, and the main sequence types (ST64, ST68, ST71, ST84, ST150, and ST155) of methicillin-resistant strains of S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) were identified for the geographic region. IMPORTANCE Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is an important disease-causing bacterium in dogs and is recognized as a growing threat to human health. Due to increasing multidrug resistance, discovery of alternative methods for treatment of these infections is vital. Interference with one target for alternative treatment, the quorum sensing system agr , has demonstrated clinical improvement of infections in S. aureus animal models. In this study, we sequenced and characterized 160 clinical S. pseudintermedius isolates and their agr systems in order to increase understanding of the epidemiology of the agr group and clarify its associations with types of infection and antimicrobial resistance. We found that isolates with agr type II were significantly less common than other agr types in diseased dogs. This provides valuable information to veterinary clinical microbiologists and clinicians, especially as less research has been performed on infection associations of agr and its therapeutic potential in S. pseudintermedius than in S. aureus .