Ibira RD¹, Nwokah EG¹, Onwuli D², Reuben E³, Orabueze IC⁴, Azuonwu G⁵, Poplong AN⁶ and Azuonwu O¹*

¹Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Medical Bacteriology/Virology/Parasitology Unit, Rivers State University, Nkpolu–Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

*Corresponding Author: Azuonwu O, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Medical Bacteriology/Virology/Parasitology Unit, Rivers State University, Nkpolu–Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Received: January 02, 2023; Published: February 13, 2023

Abstract

Objective: Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common bacterial zoonotic infectious agent that is transmitted to humans by dog. This study was carried out to determine the potentials of domestic dogs to act as reservoirs for transmission of MRSA in Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria and to possibly x-ray it’s potential public health implication

Methods: 210 swab samples from the mouth, nose and skin of 70 dogs (from private residences, dog farms, and private veterinary clinics) were collected and cultured for the recovery of Staphylococcus aureus using standard microbiological procedures. PCR assay were used to detect the presence of mecA genes and confirmed the identity of S. aureus isolates. Disk diffusion technique was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility against 8 antimicrobial agents.

Results: Overall, 202 Staphylococcus spp. were isolated from the sampling sites (Mouth, Nose and Skin) of 70 dogs, consisting of 177 (87.62%) S. aureus and 25(12.38%) coagulase negative Staphylococcus pathogens. Out of the 177 S. aureus, 42(23.73%) were MRSA while 135 (76.27%) were MSSA. However, the results of the Susceptibility pattern of MRSA isolates showed that levofloxacin was the most effective among all the antibiotics used in this study. 28 (66.67%) isolates out of the 42 MRSA positive isolates were sensitive to levofloxacin while 2(4.76%) were resistance to levofloxacin. Amoxicillin was the most resisted antibiotic, 37(88.10%) isolates out of the 42 MRSA positive isolates were resistance to amoxicillin while 5(11.90%) of the 42 MRSA positive isolates were sensitive to amoxicillin. All the 42 MRSA isolates had multidrug resistance index of > 0.2. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Agarose gel-electrophoresis analysis revealed that the MRSA isolates carries mecA gene. Further analysis of the resistant determinants by BLAST revealed that all the resistant Staphylococcus strains were S. aureus strains.

Conclusion: This study revealed that dogs in study area harbors MRSA, which is of public health concern. Therefore, there is an urgent need for proper public health enlightenment advocacy on the risks associated with pet dog ownership and the need for proper hygiene while handling these pet dogs in our community.

Keywords: Molecular Profile; Antibiogram; Methicillin Resistant; Staphylococcus aurous; Domestic Dogs; Port Harcourt; Public Health; Risk

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Citation

Citation: Azuonwu O., et al. “Molecular Profile and Antibiogram of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Domestic Dogs in Port Harcourt: A Public Health Concern". Acta Scientific Microbiology 6.3 (2023): 55-62.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Azuonwu O., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.