Prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pigs and workers at abattoirs in Trinidad and Tobago

Authors

  • Alva Stewart-Johnson School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Francis Dziva School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Woubit Abdela Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee University, Alabama, United States
  • Saed Rahaman Veterinary Public Health Unit, Ministry of Health, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
  • Abiodun Adesiyun School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Basic Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.10552

Keywords:

MRSA, pigs, resistance, Trinidad and Tobago, workers

Abstract

Introduction: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a major cause of zoonotic infections, has emerged globally in livestock, particularly pigs. People with occupational contact with food producing animals are at high risk of colonization. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA in pigs and abattoir workers throughout Trinidad and Tobago as well as their resistance to other antimicrobial agents.

Methodology: Nasal and skin behind the ear swabs from pigs and nasal swabs from humans were enriched in Mueller Hinton broth with 6.5% sodium chloride, followed by phenol red mannitol broth with 75 mg/L aztreonam and 5 mg/L ceftizoxime. The enriched sample was then plated on both CHROMagar MRSA and Brilliance MRSA. All incubation was at 37ºC for approximately 24 h. Suspect MRSA isolates were confirmed as MRSA using the Penicillin-Binding Protein (PBP2a) test kit and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the mecA gene. Resistance of the S. aureus and MRSA isolates to 16 antimicrobial agents was determined using the disc diffusion method.

Results: Of the 929 pigs and 44 humans sampled, MRSA strains were isolated at a frequency of 0.9% (8/929) and 2.3% (1/44) respectively. All isolates exhibited resistance to one or more of the 16 antimicrobial agents.

Conclusions: The study demonstrated that pigs and workers at slaughter houses in Trinidad and Tobago harbour multidrug resistance S. aureus and MRSA. This is of public health significance as occupational exposure of humans can lead to an increased risk of infection and therapeutic failure.

Downloads

Published

2019-05-31

How to Cite

1.
Stewart-Johnson A, Dziva F, Abdela W, Rahaman S, Adesiyun A (2019) Prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in pigs and workers at abattoirs in Trinidad and Tobago. J Infect Dev Ctries 13:400–409. doi: 10.3855/jidc.10552

Issue

Section

Original Articles