An epidemiological study of Staphylococcus intermedius strains isolated from dogs , their owners and veterinary surgeons

• Published in: Journal of analytical and applied pyrolysis 1997-11, Vol.44 (1), p.49-64
• Main Authors: Goodacre, Royston, Harvey, Richard, Howell, Susan A, Greenham, Leighton W, Noble, William C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Epidemiology; Evolution; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Microbiology; Phenetic classification; Phylogeny; Pyrolysis mass spectrometry; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 0165-2370; 1873-250X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0165-2370(97)00076-4

Isolates of Staphylococcus intermedius recovered from dogs, their owners and veterinarians have been examined by restriction enzyme digestion analysis and by pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PyMS). SmaI digests were only carried out where three or more isolates were available from a household and showed that, whilst some dogs carried the same strain throughout, others acquired new strains. Similarly some owners shared strains with their dogs but others did not. Curie-point pyrolysis mass spectra were obtained from all 56 cutaneous S. intermedius strains. PyMS with cluster analysis was a valuable tool which enabled epidemiological questions to be answered as follows: (1) there was no clear correlation between the canine site sampled and the S. intermedius strain(s) recovered; (2) we observed acquisition of new strains at the expense of the older strains and the potential adaptation of strains to their new environment(s); (3) S. intermedius was carried by humans in close contact with dogs, and strains from humans generally correlated with strains recovered from their dog(s). Furthermore, analysis by PyMS has thrown light on the phenotypic changes which may occur in bacteria grown in a natural, polymicrobial habitat.