Genetic characterisation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in pets and veterinary personnel in Iran: new insights into emerging methicillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP) Saeid Tabatabaei a , Arash Najafifar b , Mahdi Askari Badouei c, *, Taghi Zahraei Salehi a , Iradj Ashrafi Tamai a , Ehsan Khaksar d , Mohamed Salah Abbassi e , Fereshteh Ghazisaeedi f a Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran b Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran c Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. Box 91779489741793, Mashhad, Iran d Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran e Université de Tunis El Manar, Tunisian Institute of Veterinary Research, Tunis, Tunisia f Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 31 May 2018 Received in revised form 28 July 2018 Accepted 24 August 2018 Available online 30 August 2018 Keywords: Methicillin-resistant staphylococci MRSA MRSP SCCmec Virulence Resistance A B S T R A C T Objectives: Methicillin-resistant staphylococci, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP), pose a threat to animal and human health worldwide. Veterinary staff and pets may play a role in the spread of resistant clones. Methods: A total of 125 samples from veterinary staff (n = 50), dogs (n = 49) and cats (n = 26) were investigated. Obtained isolates were tested for the methicillin resistance gene mecA and were subjected to multiplex PCR to differentiate coagulase-positive species. Following SCCmec and spa typing, isolates were tested for the presence of various toxin and virulence genes and phenotypic resistance to common antimicrobials. Results: Overall, 4 MRSA were isolated from two veterinarians and two dogs and 19 MRSP were found in eleven dogs (12 isolates) and five cats (7 isolates). The MRSA isolates possessed sea (2) and eta (3) virulence genes and the MRSP isolates possessed sea (6), expA (15), expB (1) and siet (19) genes. SCCmec type II and three spa types (t186, t1816 and t10897) were identified in the MRSA isolates. Most of the MRSP isolates belonged to SCCmec types II (2 isolates) and V (10 isolates); however, the remaining 7 isolates were untypeable and contained class C1 mec. The majority of isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). Conclusion: These findings show that pets and veterinarians could be potential sources of MDR-MRSA and MDR-MRSP in Iran. Taken together, these findings warrant future investigations on the epidemiology and public-health significance of MDR-MRSA and MDR-MRSP both in veterinarians and companion animals in Iran. © 2018 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius are two common coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) species frequently isolated from the skin and upper respiratory tract of humans or animals. Local infections of the skin and soft tissues as well as food poisoning are common clinical manifestations of S. aureus infection in humans [1]. Cats and dogs can be similarly affected by S. aureus and develop infections such as wound- and surgery-associated infections, pyoderma and otitis [2]. Staphylo- coccus pseudintermedius opportunistically causes frequent ear and skin infections in cats and dogs but rarely infects or colonises humans [3]. The persistency and pathogenicity of Staphylococcus strains in their host are attributed to several virulence factors, of which enterotoxins, exfoliative toxins and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 significantly contribute to their pathogenesis [4]. * Corresponding author. E-mail address: askari.m@um.ac.ir (M. Askari Badouei). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2018.08.022 2213-7165/© 2018 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance 16 (2019) 6–10 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance journal home page : www.e lsevier.com/loca te/jgar