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INTRODUCTION
The European conference on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), organized in 2008 by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, concluded that it was time to tackle MRSA [1]. Ten years previously, a conference on MRSA organized by veterinarians would have seemed rather peculiar. However, the ever emerging recognition of a new type of MRSA, believed to be of animal origin, and the expanding number of reports on MRSA transfer between animals and humans, has led to the growing awareness that MRSA is now a problem in both human and veterinary medicine.
When studying the epidemiological aspects of animal MRSA, food production animals (cattle, pigs and poultry, hereafter referred to as livestock) are of particular concern. Not only are they recorded as the primary source of the newly emerging MRSA type, studies also suggest that they are involved in transfer of MRSA strains between animals and humans (and vice versa). Indeed, as livestock they are in close contact with humans (farmers, farm co-workers, veterinarians, etc.) and once they have entered the food chain, they might serve as convenient vehicles for bacterial transfer, possibly threatening food handlers and consumers.
In this review, the current knowledge on the prevalence, epidemiology, evolution and medical importance of MRSA in both livestock and derived food products is summarized. As an introduction, the most relevant facts on S. aureus and methicillin resistance are listed, followed by a short description of the most frequently used typing methods for both methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA.
MRSA: methicillin-resistant S. aureus
S. aureus is the best characterized species among the staphylococci, a genus of Gram-positive, A-T rich cocci comprising over 50 species and subspecies according to the NCBI Taxonomy browser [2]. It forms part of the normal staphylococcal flora of humans and various animal species [3, 4]. S. aureus is also the most important human pathogenic Staphylococcus species, with clinical conditions ranging from common minor skin infections to severe, often life-threatening infections [5].
In animals, S. aureus is one of the three major pathogenic Staphylococcus species, together with S. (pseud)intermedius and S. hyicus [6]. The scale of infections it may be involved in is as broad as the number of animal species suffering from...