ORCID Profile
0000-0002-3036-9592
Current Organisation
University of Queensland - Gatton Campus
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Publisher: American Dairy Science Association
Date: 09-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-03-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-023-31385-2
Abstract: Dermatological conditions may be complicated by Staphylococcus spp. infections influencing skin and nasal microbiota. We investigated the associations between the resident nasal microbiota of shelter dogs with and without dermatological conditions carrying methicillin-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus spp. Nasal s ling of 16 dogs with and 52 without dermatological conditions were performed upon shelter admission (baseline), and then bi-weekly until discharge (follow-up). All s les were cultured for Staphylococcus spp., while 52 s les underwent microbiota analysis . Two elastic net logistic regression (ENR) models (Model 1—baseline s les Model 2—follow-up s les) were developed to identify predictive associations between dermatological conditions and the variables: signalment, antimicrobial treatment, and nasal microbial genera. Follow-up nasal s les of dogs with dermatological conditions had decreased microbiota ersity and abundance compared to dogs without dermatological conditions. Our ENR models identified predictive differences in signalment and nasal microbial genera between baseline and follow-up s les. Co-occurrence networks showed nasal microbial genera were more dissimilar when comparing dogs with and without dermatological conditions at follow-up. Overall, this study is the first to investigate Staphylococcus spp. carriage effects on nasal microbial genera in a canine animal shelter population, and ultimately reveals the importance of investigating decolonisation and probiotic therapies for restoring nasal microbiota.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 20-01-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FVETS.2020.608901
Abstract: While the effects of cleaning and disinfection practices on the reduction of environmental nosocomial bacteria are well-established in human and large animal veterinary hospitals, how animal movements within animal health care facilities influence environmental bacterial recovery is poorly understood. During three consecutive weeks, 155 electrostatic wipes were collected from the environment pre- and post-cleaning only or following disinfection from seven target locations within an animal shelter. All s les were cultured, and isolates were identified using a matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization—time of flight mass spectrometry. Social network analysis of animal movements during the s ling period was performed to estimate the level of connectivity of the seven target locations. The relationship between bacterial levels and connectivity estimates of the target locations were investigated using a negative binomial regression model with a random effect of s ling areas. Overall, our results indicate a significant reduction in the total bacterial contamination with disinfection when compared to cleaning only [Coefficient (Coef.) = −1.72, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = −3.09, −0.34, P = 0.015]. Higher total bacterial contamination was significantly more likely in s led areas with less animal movement connectivity (Coef. = −0.32, 95% CI = −0.49, −0.15, P ≤ 0.001). Pseudomonas aeruginosa and icillin resistant Enterobacteriaceae ( Escherichia coli, Enterobacter spp. and Klebsiella spp.) were present in the animal holdings and in the shelters' veterinary clinic environment at all s ling times. Our findings demonstrate that cleaning followed by disinfection practices are effective at reducing environmental bacterial levels. Areas with less animal connectivity are more likely to have a higher bacterial contamination. These areas could represent environmental reservoirs for bacterial infection and should be targeted with effective cleaning and disinfection protocols.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 10-08-2023
DOI: 10.3389/FVETS.2023.1232048
Abstract: A 5-year retrospective study was conducted to describe the mastitis-causing organisms isolated from bovine milk s les submitted to four veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Australia. The aim of this study was to identify temporal, geographical, and seasonal patterns of occurrence for the organisms and report the in vitro susceptibility of the most common mastitis-causing pathogens. In total, 22,102 milk s les were submitted between 2015 and 2019. The results were reported as positive growth for at least one significant organism ( n = 11,407 51.6%), no growth ( n = 5,782 26.2%), and mixed/contaminated growth ( n = 4,913 22.2%). Culture results for no growth, gram-negative bacteria, and eukaryotic organisms were combined for each region, and they were accounted for between 23 and 46% of submissions. These results represent a subset of mastitis cases for which the antibiotic treatment may not be warranted. A total of 11,907 isolates were cultured from 11,407 milk s les. The most common isolated organisms were Streptococcus uberis [41.3% 95% confidence interval (CI): 40.4–42.1%] and Staphylococcus aureus (23.6% 95% CI: 22.8–24.3%). For S. uberis and S. aureus , there was an association between a positive culture result and the dairy region. All regions except for the Sub-tropical Dairy region were more likely to culture S. uberis compared to the reference, Dairy NSW ( P & 0.001). Similarly, for S. aureus , a positive culture result was more likely in all other dairy regions compared to Dairy NSW ( P & 0.001). The LISA cluster analysis identified differences between High-High (hotspot) postcodes for S . aureus and S . uberis throughout all the analyzed dairy regions. These results highlight the need for further investigations into specific risk factors, such as environmental factors and herd-level predictors, which may have influenced the observed regional variations. Common mastitis-causing pathogens showed overall good susceptibility to a range of antimicrobials used in the treatment of mastitis. On-going surveillance of mastitis-causing pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibilities will facilitate targeted mastitis control and treatment programs.
No related grants have been discovered for Sara Horsman.