Kinship analysis of mecA gene of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and risk factors from the farmers in Blitar, Indonesia

Research (Published online: 25-01-2024)

25. Kinship analysis of mecA gene of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk and risk factors from the farmers in Blitar, Indonesia

Aswin Rafif Khairullah, Shendy Canadya Kurniawan, Sri Agus Sudjarwo, Mustofa Helmi Effendi, Agus Widodo, Ikechukwu Benjamin Moses, Abdullah Hasib, Reichan Lisa Az Zahra, Maria Aega Gelolodo, Dyah Ayu Kurniawati, Katty Hendriana Priscilia Riwu, Otto Sahat Martua Silaen, Daniah Ashri Afnani, and Sancaka Cashyer Ramandinianto

Veterinary World, 17(1): 216-225

Aswin Rafif Khairullah: Division of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, East Java, Indonesia.

Shendy Canadya Kurniawan: Master Program of Animal Sciences, Department of Animal Sciences, Specialisation in Molecule, Cell and Organ Functioning, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen 6708 PB, Netherlands.

Sri Agus Sudjarwo: Division of Basic Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, East Java, Indonesia.

Mustofa Helmi Effendi: Division of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, East Java, Indonesia.

Agus Widodo: Department of Health, Faculty of Vocational Studies, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dharmawangsa Dalam Selatan No. 28-30, Kampus B Airlangga, Surabaya 60115, East Java, Indonesia.

Ikechukwu Benjamin Moses: Department of Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki 480211, Nigeria.

Abdullah Hasib: School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Queensland, Australia.

Reichan Lisa Az Zahra: Profession Program of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dr. Ir. H. Soekarno, Kampus C Mulyorejo, Surabaya 60115, East Java, Indonesia.

Maria Aega Gelolodo: Department of Animal Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Nusa Cendana, Jl. Adisucipto Penfui, Kupang 85001, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Dyah Ayu Kurniawati: Indonesia Research Center for Veterinary Science, Jl. RE Martadinata No. 30, Bogor 16114, West Java, Indonesia.

Katty Hendriana Priscilia Riwu: Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Pendidikan Mandalika, Jl. Pemuda No. 59A, Dasan Agung Baru, Mataram 83125, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Otto Sahat Martua Silaen: Doctoral Program of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jl. Salemba Raya No. 6 Senen, Jakarta 10430, Indonesia.

Daniah Ashri Afnani: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Pendidikan Mandalika, Jl. Pemuda No. 59A, Dasan Agung Baru, Mataram 83125, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

Sancaka Cashyer Ramandinianto: Lingkar Satwa Animal Care Clinic, Jl. Sumatera No. 31L, Gubeng, Surabaya 60281, East Java, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: There are numerous reports of subclinical mastitis cases in Blitar, which is consistent with the region’s high milk production and dairy cattle population. Staphylococcus aureus, which is often the cause of mastitis cases, is widely known because of its multidrug-resistant properties and resistance to β-lactam antibiotic class, especially the methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains. This study aimed to molecular detection and sequence analysis of the mecA gene in milk and farmer’s hand swabs to show that dairy cattle are reservoirs of MRSA strains.

Materials and Methods: A total of 113 milk samples and 39 farmers’ hand swab samples were collected from a dairy farm for the isolation of S. aureus using Mannitol salt agar. The recovered isolates were further characterized using standard microbiological techniques. Isolates confirmed as S. aureus were tested for sensitivity to antibiotics. Oxacillin Resistance Screening Agar Base testing was used to confirm the presence of MRSA, whereas the mecA gene was detected by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.

Results: : A total of 101 samples were confirmed to be S. aureus. There were 2 S. aureus isolates that were multidrug-resistant and 14 S. aureus isolates that were MRSA. The mecA gene was detected in 4/14 (28.6%) phenotypically identified MRSA isolates. Kinship analysis showed identical results between mecA from milk and farmers’ hand swabs. No visible nucleotide variation was observed in the two mecA sequences of isolates from Blitar, East Java.

Conclusion: The spread of MRSA is a serious problem because the risk of zoonotic transmission can occur not only to people who are close to livestock in the workplace, such as dairy farm workers but also to the wider community through the food chain.

Keywords: hand swab, mecA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, milk, public health.