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The objective was to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in red deer of a semi-extensive farm and in humans in contact with the estate animals, and to characterize obtained isolates. Nasal swabs of 65 deer and 15 humans were seeded on mannitol-salt-agar and oxacillin-resistance-screening-agar-base. Isolates were identified by microbiological and molecular methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile was determined for 16 antibiotics by disk-diffusion and the presence of eight antibiotic resistance genes, seven virulence genes and genes of immune-evasion-cluster (IEC) was analyzed by PCR. S. aureus was typed by PFGE-SmaI, spa , agr , SCC mec and MLST. Isolates were detected in 16 deer (24.6%). Eleven S. aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant (MRSA), and five were methicillin-susceptible (MSSA). All MRSA harbored mecC gene and were agr -III/SCC mec XI/ST1945 (four spa -t843 and seven spa -t1535). All mecC -MRSA carried bla Z-SCC mec XI and etd 2, were IEC-type-E, and belonged to the same PFGE pattern. The five MSSA were typed as spa -t2420/ agr -I/ST133. Regarding humans, S. aureus was recovered from six samples (40%). The isolates were MSSA and were typed as spa -t002/ agr -II, spa -t012/ agr -III or spa -t822/ agr -III and showed different IEC types (A, B, D and F). bla Z and erm (A) genes were detected, as well as cna and tst genes. As conclusion, red deer analyzed in this study are frequent carriers of mecC -MRSA CC130 (16.9%), they are characterized by few resistance and virulence determinants, and by the presence of IEC type-E. Deer could be a source of mecC -MRSA which could potentially be transmitted to other animals, or even to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]