AMB Volume 40, Issue 2, 2024 Pages 228-235 https://doi.org/10.59393/amb24400210
Contamination of Veterinary Personnel and Companion Animals with Staphylococcus Bacteria in Clinics
Kukhtyn M., Mocherniuk M., Horiuk Y., Prosyanyi S., Horiuk V.
In veterinary clinics, a unique environment is created where veterinary personnel come into contact with companion animals and microorganisms that are present on the fur, skin, and mucous membranes of patients. The work presents a study on the contamination of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx of veterinary workers and the skin and wounds of companion animals with bacteria of the genus Staphylococcus, MRSA, and MRSP. It has been established that the veterinary staff of the clinics are carriers of coagulase-positive staphylococci, in an average of 30% of cases on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, which can be assessed as a source of airborne infection and possible infection of patient animals. At the same time, the zoonotic species S. pseudintermedius has colonized the mucous membranes of workers in a minimal number of samples. The healthy skin of companion animals can be a source of the spread of coagulase-positive staphylococci in the environment of veterinary clinics during their visits. Among the veterinary staff, MRSA has been more often isolated in 7.6% of nasopharyngeal washings, and MRSP has been detected only in 3.8%. At the same time, MRSP (11.6%) was detected in dogs and cats in greater numbers than MRSA (2.3%). Therefore, in veterinary clinics, it is necessary to carry out treatment and preventive procedures in compliance with sanitary and hygienic requirements, which would minimize the process of cross-contamination with pathogens in order to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance.
Keywords: MRSP, MRSA, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus, dogs, cats
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