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Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) is an important opportunistic pathogen, frequently associated with pyoderma and otitis in dogs. The emergence and rapid expansion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) is problematic due to multidrug resistance and reduced treatment options. The aim of this study was to determine i) the prevalence of MRSP in dogs with pyoderma or otitis externa, ii) the antimicrobial resistance patterns of MRSP from South African isolates, and iii) the risk factors for MRSP-associated pyoderma or otitis externa in dogs in South Africa (RSA). Sixty-eight presumptive clinical SP isolates (collected from 65 dogs) from five geographically dispersed laboratories in RSA were collected over 2 years. Possible MRSP isolates were flagged when resistance to oxacillin was observed. Thereafter, all isolates were confirmed as SP by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and further genotyped for the mecA gene. Fifty-seven of 68 isolates were confirmed to be SP (83.8%), while 49/57 (85.9%) carried mecA. Our findings showed that preliminary phenotypic methods supplemented by genotypic methods increased the accuracy of correctly identifying SP. All isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial drug. There was a high incidence of amoxicillin (70.1%) and enrofloxacin (65%) resistance. Important risk factors for mecA positive carriage were previous hospital admission, pruritus, and previous antibacterial failure. This study demonstrates a high prevalence of mecA positive carriage (85.9% of samples) in MRSP pyoderma and otitis in dogs in RSA. There is an urgent need for better laboratory diagnosis of MRSP and surveillance of dogs presenting with pyoderma and otitis in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major incursion of human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) infection into the South African heterosexual population has been by southerly migration of the heterosexual HIV-1 epidemic from central Africa. Much important information can be obtained from blood donor seroprevalence data and cohort studies of those individuals infected during the early stages of the epidemic in South Africa. By the end of April 1989, over half a million blood donors in Natal had been screened and the presence of antibody to HIV-1 confirmed in more than 200. The majority of these anti-HIV-1 positive donors are young and single (many of them still at school), although a substantial proportion already have children of their own and a recent history of sexually transmitted disease is common. The Natal Blood Transfusion Service experience indicates that the heterosexual HIV-1 epidemic in Natal is essentially no different from the earlier stages of heterosexual epidemics elsewhere in Africa. There is still time for effective programmes to have a major impact on progression of the epidemic in South Africa, particularly if these programmes are directed at the young population in educational institutions.