Staphylococcus felis C4 exhibits in vitro antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in a novel canine skin explant model.

Background: Canine superficial pyoderma is a common bacterial skin infection of dogs, generally caused by Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. The C4 strain of Staphylococcus felis was recently discovered to have strong antimicrobial activity against S. pseudintermedius in mice.

Surveyed veterinary students in Australia find ChatGPT practical and relevant while expressing no concern about artificial intelligence replacing veterinarians.

Background: Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) is a freely available online artificial intelligence (AI) program capable of understanding and generating human-like language. This study assessed veterinary students' perceptions about ChatGPT in education and practice. It compared perceptions about ChatGPT between students who had completed a critical analysis task and those who had not.

Eliminate all risks: A call to reexamine the link between canine scabies and rheumatic heart disease.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and acute rheumatic fever (ARF) disproportionately affect individuals in low-resource settings. ARF is attributed to an immune response to Group A Streptococcus (GAS) following GAS pharyngitis and potentially GAS impetigo in which infection can be initiated by scabies infestation. The burden of ARF and RHD in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia is among the highest globally.

Antimicrobials from a feline commensal bacterium inhibit skin infection by drug-resistant .

Methicillin-resistant (MRSP) is an important emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes severe skin infections. To combat infections from drug-resistant bacteria, the transplantation of commensal antimicrobial bacteria as a therapeutic has shown clinical promise. We screened a collection of diverse staphylococcus species from domestic dogs and cats for antimicrobial activity against MRSP.

Posaconazole treatment of refractory coccidioidomycosis in dogs.

Background: The majority of dogs with coccidioidomycosis recover with administration of fluconazole or itraconazole, although some cases are refractory or the dogs do not tolerate administration of these medications.

Objectives: The objective was to describe the treatment outcomes and therapeutic monitoring of 8 dogs with refractory coccidioidomycosis treated with posaconazole.

Animals: Eight dogs with refractory coccidioidomycosis.

Biphasic Outbreak of Invasive Group A Streptococcus Disease in Eldercare Facility, New Zealand.

A 3-month outbreak of invasive group A Streptococcus disease at an eldercare facility, in which 5 persons died, was biphasic. Although targeted chemoprophylaxis contained the initial outbreak, a second phase of the outbreak occurred after infection control processes ended. To retrospectively investigate the genomic epidemiology of the biphasic outbreak, we used whole-genome sequencing and multiple bioinformatics approaches.

Molecular characterization of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from pet dogs.

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious public health concern and in Australia, one that disproportionately affects Aboriginal people. Paralleling MRSA in human medicine, methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) is an increasingly prevalent pathogen in veterinary medicine.

Author Correction: Atlas of group A streptococcal vaccine candidates compiled using large-scale comparative genomics.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Severe acute cellulitis and sepsis caused by Aeromonas spp. in a dog on immunosuppressive therapy.

Objective: To describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic investigation, and medical management of a dog on immunosuppressive therapy that developed a severe soft tissue infection attributed to Aeromonas hydrophila/caviae.

Case Summary: A 5-year-old female neutered Border Collie dog was presented for investigation of a rapidly growing skin lesion. The dog had been diagnosed with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia and was receiving immunosuppressive therapy for 5 weeks.

Diagnostic accuracy of phenotypic assays for determining antimicrobial resistance status in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from canine clinical cases.

This study evaluated the diagnostic test accuracy of disc diffusion relative to broth-microdilution for clinical Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolated from dogs in Australia (n = 614). Accuracy of disc diffusion and broth-microdilution for oxacillin relative to mecA real-time PCR was also assessed. Each isolate had paired minimum inhibitory concentration and zone diameter values for ten antimicrobial agents.

Atlas of group A streptococcal vaccine candidates compiled using large-scale comparative genomics.

Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) is a bacterial pathogen for which a commercial vaccine for humans is not available. Employing the advantages of high-throughput DNA sequencing technology to vaccine design, we have analyzed 2,083 globally sampled GAS genomes. The global GAS population structure reveals extensive genomic heterogeneity driven by homologous recombination and overlaid with high levels of accessory gene plasticity.

Commensal Staphylococci Including Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Dogs and Cats in Remote New South Wales, Australia.

Staphylococci are important opportunistic pathogens in human and veterinary medicine in addition to being part of the normal flora of the skin and mucous membranes of mammals and birds. The rise of antimicrobial resistance amongst staphylococci warrants closer investigation of the diversity of skin commensal organisms-including coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS)-due to their potential as a source of resistance genes. This study is aimed at characterising the commensal staphylococci-including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species (spp.

Systematic Review of Group A Streptococcal Types Associated with Acute Post-Streptococcal Glomerulonephritis.

Acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is a postinfectious immune-mediated kidney disease associated with group A (GAS). The prevalence of APSGN varies within and between countries and is influenced by socioeconomic, host, and bacterial factors. The disease is more prevalent in developing countries and resource-poor settings of developed countries, such as the Indigenous populations residing in tropical Australia.

Detection of Epidemic Scarlet Fever Group A Streptococcus in Australia.

Sentinel hospital surveillance was instituted in Australia to detect the presence of pandemic group A Streptococcus strains causing scarlet fever. Genomic and phylogenetic analyses indicated the presence of an Australian GAS emm12 scarlet fever isolate related to United Kingdom outbreak strains. National surveillance to monitor this pandemic is recommended.

Evolution of the Population Structure of in France.

is a colonizer as well as an important pathogen of dogs where it is responsible for skin, ear and post-operative infections. The emergence of methicillin-resistant (MRSP) in the early 2000s, which were additionally resistant to most veterinary-licensed antibiotics, drew specific attention to these pathogens due to the limitations created in veterinary therapeutic options. Multiple studies showed that the sequence type (ST)71 was the most frequently identified clone in Europe.

Characterization of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Elements from Methicillin-Resistant Infections in Australian Animals.

We examined the oxacillin resistance phenotype and genomic structure of staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) elements from 77 veterinary methicillin-resistant (MRSP) isolates. Isolates were characterized by oxacillin broth microdilution, whole-genome sequencing, and bioformatics analysis. Five previously described SCC elements, and a sixth novel element, were identified: SCC III (also known as II-III), ΨSCC, and SCC (a SCC VII variant), all previously described in MRSP, and SCC IVg and SCC V, previously described in both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and MRSP.

Methicillin-resistant staphylococci amongst veterinary personnel, personnel-owned pets, patients and the hospital environment of two small animal veterinary hospitals.

This study investigated the transmission cycle of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) in small companion animal veterinary practice. Sampling was undertaken at two small animal veterinary hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Samples were collected from 46 veterinary personnel, 79 personnel-owned dogs and cats, 151 clinically normal canine hospital admissions and 25 environmental sites.

Qac genes and biocide tolerance in clinical veterinary methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.

Qac genes are associated with increased tolerance to quaternary ammonium compounds and other cationic biocides such as chlorhexidine. This study aimed to determine whether qac genes and increased biocide tolerance were present in 125 clinical methicillin-resistant and susceptible veterinary staphylococci. A total of 125 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP and MSSP) from three archived Australian veterinary staphylococci collections underwent whole genome sequencing, multilocus sequence typing and qac gene screening.

Clonal diversity and geographic distribution of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius from Australian animals: Discovery of novel sequence types.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) is an increasingly prevalent pathogen in veterinary medicine. This study examined the molecular epidemiology of clinical MRSP isolated from Australian animals. Clinical staphylococci submitted to all Australian veterinary diagnostic laboratories were collected during 2013 and identified using traditional phenotypic tests and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Australian Animals and Veterinarians.

This study aimed to determine the frequency and molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from Australian animals and whether animal-derived MRSA was similar to that from Australian veterinarians. A total of 1,080 clinical coagulase positive Staphylococcus isolates from Australian animals were collected during 2013. Sixteen (4%) of 360 S.

Antimicrobial resistance in coagulase-positive staphylococci isolated from companion animals in Australia: A one year study.

Methicillin-resistant coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) have become increasingly recognised as opportunistic pathogens that limit therapeutic options in companion animals. The frequency of methicillin resistance amongst clinical isolates on an Australia-wide level is unknown. This study determined antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for CoPS isolated from clinical infections in companion animals (dogs, cats and horses) as part of the first nation-wide survey on antimicrobial resistance in animal pathogens in Australia for a one-year period (January 2013 to January 2014).

Risk factors for feline infectious peritonitis in Australian cats.

The objective of this study was to determine whether patient signalment (age, breed, sex and neuter status) is associated with naturally-occurring feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats in Australia. A retrospective comparison of the signalment between cats with confirmed FIP and the general cat population was designed. The patient signalment of 382 FIP confirmed cases were compared with the Companion Animal Register of NSW and the general cat population of Sydney.