Digital Commons Network^™

Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius: Population Genetics And Antimicrobial Resistance, Ricardo Videla

Masters Theses

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a Gram-positive coagulase-negative coccus. It is a normal inhabitant of the skin of dogs. However, clinical disease can be observed in animals that are immunossuppressed or if the skin barrier is altered. This bacterium is recognized as the main cause of canine pyoderma and has also been associated with other conditions such as infection of the urinary tract, the ears, and surgical wounds.

Methicillin resistance and resistance to other antimicrobials regularly used by veterinarians is common among S. pseudintermedius which can complicate treatment. The first report of mecA, gene responsible for methicillin resistance, in S. pseudintermedius …

Methicillin Resistance In Staphylococcus Pseudintermedius, Chad Christopher Black

Doctoral Dissertations

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius affecting dogs is analogous to S. aureus on humans, acting as both normal flora and opportunistic pathogen. Methicillin resistance in S. pseudintermedius is recent, with the first documented occurrence of an isolate bearing the methicillin resistance gene, mecA, in 1999. This gene encodes penicillin binding protein 2a, which renders all beta-lactam drugs ineffective and functions as a “gateway” antibiotic resistance determinant. In the presence of ineffective antibiotics, opportunities for mutational events and acquisition of mobile genetic elements increase as microbial densities increase, often leading to multi-drug resistance. Methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) infections have become increasingly common. For …