الفهرس 
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Abstract
This study was carried out in Alexandria Province for a period of 8 months from April 2021 to November 2021 in a trial to isolate and molecularly identify MRSA strains from companion animals as well as their human contacts beside evaluation of the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the identified MRSA strains.
In order to achieve the aim of this work, nasal, ear and skin swabs were collected from 120 companion animals including dogs (70) and cats (50) either diseased or apparently healthy animals with different ages and sex. Also, nasal, ear and skin swabs were collected from 100 individuals either hospitalized patients or apparently healthy individuals with or without direct contact with companion animals with various gender and ages.
Swabs were inserted into sterile glass tubes filled with nutrient broth and closed tightly then placed in ice box and transported to the laboratory of Animal Hygiene and Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alexandria University with the minimum of delay and then incubated for maximum 6 hours before culturing.
It was found that frequent distribution of MRSA in companion animals and human contacts under was 32.5 and 33%, respectively with non-significant association between the rates of isolation. In addition, it was recorded that the frequent distribution of MRSA in dogs and cats was 41.4 and 20%, respectively with significant association between the rates of isolation.
Concerning dogs, it was recorded that frequent distribution of MRSA in diseased dogs (50%) was higher than apparently healthy dogs (35%) and it was higher in males (46.7%) than in females (32%) with significant association between the rates of isolation.
The effect of age on the rate of isolation of MRSA from dogs clarified that the highest rate was recorded in the age group between 2 and 8 years old (44.4%) followed by the age group less than 2 years old (39.1%) and lastly, the age group more than 8 years old (36.4%).
Concerning cats, it was recorded that frequent distribution of MRSA in diseased cats (21.4%) was higher than apparently healthy cats (18.2%) and it was higher in females (26.1%) than in males (14.8%) with significant association between the rates of isolation.
The effect of age on the rate of isolation of MRSA from cats clarified that the highest rate was recorded in the age group between 1 and 2 years old (26.7%) followed by the age group more than 2 years old (26.7%) and lastly, the age group less than 1 year old (5.6%).
On the other hand, the frequent distribution of MRSA in apparently healthy individuals (41.9%) was higher than hospitalized patients (28.9%) with significant association between the rates of isolation and the effect of gender on the rate of isolation clarified that females scored higher rate (37.7%) compared to males (25.6%) with significant association between the rates of isolation.
The effect of age groups on the rate of isolation of MRSA in human contacts clarified that individuals exceed 60 years old showed the highest incidence (44.2%) followed by those of the age group extend from 30 to 60 years (26.9%) and lastly the age group less than 30 years old (22.5%) with significant association between the rates of isolation.
The rate of isolation of MRSA in human samples in relation to companion animals’ contact was determined and it was clear that the incidence in contact individuals (44.4%) was higher than non-contact individuals (19.6%) with significant association between the rates of isolation.
The rate of isolation of MRSA from human contacts in relation to the last antibiotic intake showed that the highest rate was observed in those informing that the last antibiotic intake was during last week (44.4%) followed by those informing that the last antibiotic intake was during the last year (40%) then those informing that the last antibiotic intake was during last month (31.4%) and lastly those informing that the last antibiotic intake was during the last two months with non-significant association between the rates of isolation.
Molecular characterization of MRSA strains recovered from different sources clarified that nuc gene was detected in 17/29 strains from dogs, 6/10 and 21/33 strains from humans while mecA gene was detected in 23/29 strains from dogs, 8/10 and 26/33 strains from humans.
The results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of MRSA strains (n=39) obtained from companion animals showed that all isolates were found to be resistant to Clindamycin, Oxacillin, Rifampicin and Vancomycin, while 76.9% of isolates were resistant to Cefoxitin. On contrary, all isolates were found to be sensitive to Ciprofloxacin with statistically significant association.
On the other side, the results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of MRSA strains (n=33) obtained from humans showed that all isolates were found to be resistant to Oxacillin, Rifampicin and Vancomycin, while 90.9% of isolates were resistant to Clindamycin, 45.5 % were resistant to Cefoxitin and 33.3% were resistant to Ciprofloxacin with statistically significant association.