Evaluation of a widely used culture-based method for detection of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Denmark and Norway, 2014 to 2016

• Published in: Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles Vol. 22; no. 28; p. 6
• Main Authors: Larsen, Jesper, Sunde, Marianne, Islam, Md Zohorul, Urdahl, Anne Margrete, Barstad, Aina Steihaug, Larsen, Anders Rhod, Grøntvedt, Carl Andreas, Angen, Øystein
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sweden Centre Europeen pour la Surveillance Epidemiologique du SIDA (European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS) 13.07.2017; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
• Subjects: Animals; Antibiotics; Culture Techniques - methods; Denmark; Hogs; Livestock; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Norway; Rapid Communication; Sensitivity and Specificity; Staphylococcal Infections - diagnosis; Staphylococcal Infections - veterinary; Staphylococcus infections; Sus scrofa; Swine; Swine Diseases - microbiology; Denmark; Norway; detection; laboratory surveillance; sensitivity; meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; MRSA; livestock
• ISSN: 1560-7917; 1025-496X; 1560-7917
• DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.28.30573

We evaluated a widely used culture-based method for detection of livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in samples collected from pigs and the environment inside pig stables in Denmark and Norway. Selective enrichment in tryptic soy broth containing cefoxitin and aztreonam led to a high ratio of false-negative results (26%; 57/221). On this basis, we recommend reconsidering the use of selective enrichment for detection of LA-MRSA in animal and environmental samples.