Biomaterial Database

Risk Factors for the Occurrence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Dairy Herds: An Update. 2020

Arne Schnitt, and Bernd-Alois Tenhagen

Department Biological Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, Germany.

In dairy cows, Staphylococcus aureus is a major mastitis pathogen and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has been reported from dairy farms around the world. The risk of foodborne zoonotic infections with bovine MRSA strains seems to be low since MRSA prevalence is low in dairy herds and milk is commonly heat treated before consumption. However, bovine mastitis caused by MRSA is an important issue in veterinary medicine since treatment options with non-β-lactam antibiotics are limited. For the development of effective MRSA prevention strategies, it is necessary to know which factors increase the risk for MRSA transmission into and within dairy herds. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize the risk factors for the occurrence of MRSA in dairy herds and to identify the respective knowledge gaps. MRSA was more frequently detected in conventional dairy farms than in organic farms and in larger farms than in smaller farms. Dairy farms housing pigs along with cattle are more frequently affected by MRSA. Moreover, humans carrying MRSA can probably infect dairy cows. Consequently, pigs and humans may introduce new MRSA strains into dairy herds. MRSA transmission within dairy herds was associated with improper milking hygiene procedures. Furthermore, methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) were repeatedly isolated from dairy farms. This is an important issue since MR-CoNS may transfer resistance genes to S. aureus. The role of antimicrobial exposure as a risk factor for the occurrence of MRSA within dairy herds needs to be further investigated.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008414	Mastitis, Bovine	INFLAMMATION of the UDDER in cows.	Bovine Mastitides,Bovine Mastitis,Mastitides, Bovine
D008712	Methicillin	One of the PENICILLINS which is resistant to PENICILLINASE but susceptible to a penicillin-binding protein. It is inactivated by gastric acid so administered by injection.	Penicillin, Dimethoxyphenyl,Methicillin Hydrate, Monosodium Salt,Methicillin Monohydrate, Monosodium Salt,Methicillin Sodium,Meticillin,Metin,Staphcillin,Dimethoxyphenyl Penicillin
D008826	Microbial Sensitivity Tests	Any tests that demonstrate the relative efficacy of different chemotherapeutic agents against specific microorganisms (i.e., bacteria, fungi, viruses).	Bacterial Sensitivity Tests,Drug Sensitivity Assay, Microbial,Minimum Inhibitory Concentration,Antibacterial Susceptibility Breakpoint Determination,Antibiogram,Antimicrobial Susceptibility Breakpoint Determination,Bacterial Sensitivity Test,Breakpoint Determination, Antibacterial Susceptibility,Breakpoint Determination, Antimicrobial Susceptibility,Fungal Drug Sensitivity Tests,Fungus Drug Sensitivity Tests,Sensitivity Test, Bacterial,Sensitivity Tests, Bacterial,Test, Bacterial Sensitivity,Tests, Bacterial Sensitivity,Viral Drug Sensitivity Tests,Virus Drug Sensitivity Tests,Antibiograms,Concentration, Minimum Inhibitory,Concentrations, Minimum Inhibitory,Inhibitory Concentration, Minimum,Inhibitory Concentrations, Minimum,Microbial Sensitivity Test,Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations,Sensitivity Test, Microbial,Sensitivity Tests, Microbial,Test, Microbial Sensitivity,Tests, Microbial Sensitivity
D008892	Milk	The off-white liquid secreted by the mammary glands of humans and other mammals. It contains proteins, sugar, lipids, vitamins, and minerals.	Cow Milk,Cow's Milk,Milk, Cow,Milk, Cow's
D002417	Cattle	Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor.	Beef Cow,Bos grunniens,Bos indicus,Bos indicus Cattle,Bos taurus,Cow,Cow, Domestic,Dairy Cow,Holstein Cow,Indicine Cattle,Taurine Cattle,Taurus Cattle,Yak,Zebu,Beef Cows,Bos indicus Cattles,Cattle, Bos indicus,Cattle, Indicine,Cattle, Taurine,Cattle, Taurus,Cattles, Bos indicus,Cattles, Indicine,Cattles, Taurine,Cattles, Taurus,Cow, Beef,Cow, Dairy,Cow, Holstein,Cows,Dairy Cows,Domestic Cow,Domestic Cows,Indicine Cattles,Taurine Cattles,Taurus Cattles,Yaks,Zebus
D002418	Cattle Diseases	Diseases of domestic cattle of the genus Bos. It includes diseases of cows, yaks, and zebus.	Bovine Diseases,Bovine Disease,Cattle Disease,Disease, Bovine,Disease, Cattle,Diseases, Bovine,Diseases, Cattle
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000072480	Farms	Areas of land set aside to grow crops or raise LIVESTOCK.	Farmland,Vineyards,Farm,Farmlands,Vineyard
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia