Antimicrobial resistance and mecA gene in Staphylococcus spp. isolates from horses used in family farming

Horses can contribute to the spread of bacterial diseases, which can be caused mainly by, Staphylococcus spp., which are part of the animals’ commensal microbiota, but it is also considered a pathogenic microorganism capable of causing serious infections. vancomycin, when it is resistant to methicillin. Antimicrobial resistance is considered a major health problem by the World Health Organization and the emergence of the mecA gene, responsible for resistance to the class of beta-lactam antibiotics. Thus, the aim of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance profile and the presence of the mecA gene in Staphylococcus spp. isolated from the nasal, oral and auricular microbiota of horses used as animal traction on small family farms. Nasal, oral and auricular swabs were collected from 38 horses, with 29 (76.3%) isolated in nasal swab, 15 (39.4%) in auricular swab and 9 (23.6%) in oral swab, totaling 53 Staphylococcus spp. and 50 (94.33%) samples were resistant to the 11 antimicrobials tested, none of which were positive for molecular tests to identify the mecA gene. The results demonstrate the presence of Staphylococcus spp. associated with high (94.33%) bacterial resistance, indicating that horses can be considered reservoirs of multi-resistant microorganisms.