Detection and characterization of methicillin-resistant and susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci in milk from cows with clinical mastitis in Tunisia.

Objectives: This study investigated prevalence of methicillin-resistant (MR) and methicillin-susceptible (MS) coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) and the implicated mechanisms of resistance and virulence in milk of mastitis cows. In addition, the presence of SCCmec type was analyzed in MR Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE).

Results: Three hundred milk samples from cows with clinical mastitis were obtained from 30 dairy farms in different regions of Tunisia. Sixty-eight of the 300 tested samples contained CNS strains. Various CNS species were identified, with Staphylococcus xylosus being the most frequently found (40%) followed by Staphylococcus warneri (12%). The mecA gene was present in 14 of 20 MR-CNS isolates. All of them were lacking the mecC gene. The SCCmecIVa was identified in four MRSE isolates. Most of CNS isolates showed penicillin resistance (70.6%) and 58.3% of them carried the blaZ gene. MR-CNS isolates (n = 20) showed resistance to erythromycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim-sulfametoxazole harboring different resistance genes such us erm(B), erm(T), erm(C), mph(C) or msr(A), tet(K) and dfr(A). However, a lower percentage of resistance was observed among 48 MS-CNS isolates: erythromycin (8.3%), tetracycline (6.2%), streptomycin (6.2%), clindamycin (6.2%), and trimethoprim-sulfametoxazole (2%). The Inu(B) gene was detected in one Staphylococcus xylosus strain that showed clindamycin resistance. The virulence gene tsst-1 was observed in one MR-CNS strain.

Discussion: Coagulase-negative staphylococci containing a diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes are frequently detected in milk of mastitis cows. This fact emphasizes the importance of identifying CNS when an intramammary infection is present because of the potential risk of lateral transfer of resistant genes among staphylococcal species and other pathogenic bacteria.