Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus clones in wild mammals in Aragon, Spain, with detection of MRSA ST130‐mecC in wild rabbits.

Aims: To determine the Staphylococcus aureus carriage rate in wild mammals in Aragon, northern Spain, to analyse their antimicrobial resistance phenotype/genotype and to characterize the recovered isolates. Methods and Results: Nasal and rectal swabs of 103 mammals were collected in Aragón during the period 2012–2015. Antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors were investigated. Molecular characterization was carried out by spa, MLST, agr and SCCmec. Staphylococcus aureus were recovered from 23 animals (22%). Four of the 23 S. aureus were methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Three MRSA were mecC‐positive and were isolated from European rabbits and were typed as t843 (ascribed to CC130). The remaining MRSA was a mecA‐carrying isolate from European hedgehog, typed as ST1‐t386‐SCCmecIVa‐agrIII and it harboured the blaZ, erm(C), ant(6)‐Ia and aph(3´)‐IIIa resistance genes. A high diversity of spa‐types was detected among the 19 methicillin‐susceptible S. aureus isolates, which showed high susceptibility to the antimicrobials tested. The tst gene and different combinations of staphylococcal enterotoxins were found. Conclusions: Staphylococcus aureus were detected in nasal and rectal samples of wild mammals. Wild rabbits could be a reservoir of mecC‐MRSA. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work provides information on the presence and characteristics of S. aureus from mammals in a defined geographic region in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]