The MRSA carriage in dairy cows and their owners in Giresun and Trabzon provinces

Aim: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) can be found as a member of normal flora in humans and animals, and also as an opportunistic pathogen in immune supressed patients. Methicillin resistant S.aureus ( MRSA) which can be transmitted between humans and animals, has an important role among the community acquired infectious agents. The aim of our study is to determine the MRSA carriage rate in people dairy farming and their animals. Material and Methods : The study took place in Giresun and Trabzon provinces between September 10 th 2016 and June 30th 2018. The samples were taken from 31 dairy cows and 67 farmers who took care the same cows and were fed with the products of them. Specimens were collected from the nipples of animals and nares of volunteers with the transportvasate medium and cultured on 5% sheep blood agar in Giresun University Prof. Dr. A. Ilhan Ozdemir Training and Research Hospital Microbiology Laboratory. After 24 hours incubation, gram staining , catalase and coagulase tests were performes to the suspected colonies. Methicillin resistance were examined with oxacillin gradient and cefoxitin disc tests for the strains which were positive for catalase and coagulase tests. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was applied in order to investigate the presence of mecA gene which is accepted as the gold standard test for methicillin resistance. Results: In our study we couldn't detect any MRSA strain in the samples of 67 people and 31 cows. However, during our study 16 Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and 61 Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus (CNS) were found. Conclusion: In the study, MRSA strain was not detected. This result showed up due to the high level of awaraness in livestock raising, antibiotic use and paying attention to the hygiene rules in our region. Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, nasal carriage, MRSA, Antibiotic resistance, Dairy farming