Prevalence, resistance pattern, and molecular characterization of isolates from healthy animals and sick populations in Henan Province, China.

Background: is one of the most prevalent pathogens and a causative agent of a variety of infections in humans and animals. A total of 640 samples were collected from healthy animals and patients from 2013 to 2014 in Henan Province, China, to investigate the prevalence and perform molecular characterization of . Antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes were determined and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and cassette chromosome (SCC) typing were performed.

Results: Overall, 22.3% (n = 143) of the samples were positive for . The prevalence of methicillin-resistant (MRSA) was 5.59%. Capsular polysaccharide locus type 5 (5; 56.64%) was the dominant serotype. strains showed high resistance to penicillin (96.50%), ciprofloxacin (52.45%), amikacin (67.83%), erythromycin (96.50%), lincomycin (97.20%), and tetracycline (68.53%) and 109 (76.2%) isolates harbored six or more tested resistance genes. The most predominant resistance genes were (52.45%), (53.15%), and (52.45%). Eighty-seven (60.8%) isolates harbored six or more tested virulence genes. The most predominant enterotoxin genes were (20.28%), (20.98%), (14.69%), and (37.76%). The prevalence of gene was (57.34%), and a small number of isolates carried (5.59%) and - (2.80%). A total of 130 (82.52%) isolates could be typed by PFGE with digestion. PFGE demonstrated that 45 different patterns (P) that were grouped into 17 pulsotypes and 28 separate pulsotypes using a 90% cut-off value. A total of 118 (82.52%) isolates were successfully typed by , and 26 types were identified, t15075 (14.00%) and t189 (12.59%) were the most common types. SCC types were detected from eight MRSA isolates, with the most prevalent type being SCC IVa. MRSA-SCC Iva- was observed in human isolates.

Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of in healthy animals and patients from Henan Province, China. Resistant exhibited varying degrees of multidrug resistance. The presence of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes may facilitate the spread of strains and pose a potential threat to public health, highlighting the need for vigilant monitoring of these isolates at the human-animal interface.