Frequent dissemination and carriage of an SCCmec-mecC hybrid in methicillin-resistant Mammaliicoccus sciuri in farm animals from Tunisia.

Objectives: In this study, we aimed to assess the extent of dissemination of methicillin-resistant Mammaliicoccus sciuri in animal farms in Tunisia and evaluate the distribution of virulence and methicillin resistance genes in the M. sciuri population.

Methods: Staphylococci and mammaliicocci isolated from unhealthy animals and healthy humans from adjacent farms in Tunisia were characterized for antimicrobial susceptibility, biofilm formation, agglutination, and hemolysis abilities.

Prevalence of meticillin-resistant and -susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci with the first detection of the mecC gene among cows, humans and manure in Tunisia.

In Europe, a novel mecA homologue - mecC (formerly mecA) - has emerged recently in staphylococci from animals, humans and the environment. This paper reports the first occurrence of the mecC gene in Staphylococcus sciuri from cows and manure in Tunisia and Africa. Forty-nine coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were isolated from the milk of cows with mastitis (n=20), manure (n=20) and human nares (n=9), including 16 Staphylococcus equoruim (32.