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MRSA Strain in Humans Originally Came from Cattle
http://www.asm.org/index.php/asm-newsroom2/press-releases/92-news-room/press-releases/91780-mrsa-strain-in-humans-originally-came-from-cattle[font face=Serif][font size=5]MRSA Strain in Humans Originally Came from Cattle[/font]
[font size=3]WASHINGTON, DC – August 13, 2013 – A strain of bacteria that causes skin and soft tissue infections in humans originally came from cattle, according to a study to be published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The researchers who conducted the genetic analysis of strains of Staphylococcus aureus known as CC97 say these strains developed resistance to methicillin after they crossed over into humans around forty years ago. Today, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain CC97 is an emerging human pathogen in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. The findings highlight the potential for cows to serve as a reservoir for bacteria with the capacity for pandemic spread in humans.
The researchers sequenced the genomes of 43 different CC97 isolates from humans, cattle, and other animals, and plotted their genetic relationships in a phylogenetic tree. Corresponding author Ross Fitzgerald of the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland says strains of CC97 found in cows appear to be the ancestors of CC97 strains from humans.
"Bovine strains seemed to occupy deeper parts of the phylogenetic tree - they were closer to the root than the human strains. This led us to conclude that the strains infecting humans originated in cows and that they had evolved from bovine to human host jumps," says Fitzgerald.
…
Perhaps the most problematic new capability the human strains acquired is the ability to resist methicillin, an important antibiotic for fighting staphylococcal infections. Only human strains of CC97 were able to resist the drug, which indicates that the bacteria acquired resistance after they crossed over into humans, presumably through exposure to antibiotics prescribed for treating human infections.
…[/font][/font]
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00356-13 (Doesn’t work yet.)
[font size=3]WASHINGTON, DC – August 13, 2013 – A strain of bacteria that causes skin and soft tissue infections in humans originally came from cattle, according to a study to be published in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The researchers who conducted the genetic analysis of strains of Staphylococcus aureus known as CC97 say these strains developed resistance to methicillin after they crossed over into humans around forty years ago. Today, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain CC97 is an emerging human pathogen in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. The findings highlight the potential for cows to serve as a reservoir for bacteria with the capacity for pandemic spread in humans.
The researchers sequenced the genomes of 43 different CC97 isolates from humans, cattle, and other animals, and plotted their genetic relationships in a phylogenetic tree. Corresponding author Ross Fitzgerald of the Roslin Institute and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland says strains of CC97 found in cows appear to be the ancestors of CC97 strains from humans.
"Bovine strains seemed to occupy deeper parts of the phylogenetic tree - they were closer to the root than the human strains. This led us to conclude that the strains infecting humans originated in cows and that they had evolved from bovine to human host jumps," says Fitzgerald.
…
Perhaps the most problematic new capability the human strains acquired is the ability to resist methicillin, an important antibiotic for fighting staphylococcal infections. Only human strains of CC97 were able to resist the drug, which indicates that the bacteria acquired resistance after they crossed over into humans, presumably through exposure to antibiotics prescribed for treating human infections.
…[/font][/font]
http://mbio.asm.org/content/4/4/e00356-13