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ABSTRACT: To the Editor: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is spreading worldwide among humans and animals, including horses. Many reports of MRSA colonization and infection in horses come from Canada and involve MRSA of sequence type (ST) 8, classified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) as Canadian MRSA-5 or USA500. ST8 is thought to be a human epidemic clone that has adapted to horses (1). Another MRSA type, ST398, has recently begun spreading in Europe and North America and is associated with livestock (2). In the Netherlands, MRSA of ST8 (spa-type t064) and ST398 (spa-type t011), which belong to the livestock-associated CC398, predominate in clinical samples from horses (3). To date, human clinical infections with livestock-associated MRSA are uncommon in persons who have not had contact with pigs or calves (2). In this case study, we describe the suspected transmission of MRSA ST398 between a horse and a girl, which resulted in infection of the girl's right foot.
Emerging Infectious Diseases 06/2011; 17(6):1137-9. · 6.79 Impact Factor
