Staphylococcus aureus (RG2)

Bacteria

Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus

Strain/Type

Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Rosenbach 43300™

Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus strain F-182

DMSZ No.: 13661

F-182 (DMSZ No.: 13661, other collection no. WDCM no.: ATCC 43300,CCUG 41586,LMG 15975,WDCM 00211)

Staphylococcus aureus Rosenbach 1884*

DSM No.: 799
Strain designation: 209
Other collection no. or WDCM no.: ATCC 6538, CIP 4.83, NCTC 10788, NCIMB 9518, WDCM 00032

Source/Company

*Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Grohmann, BHT, Fachbereich V Life Sciences und Technology, Labor für Mikrobiologie, Forum Seestraße, Seestraße 64, 2. OG, Raum 275, Tel.: +49 030 4504-3942

Usage Regulation and Limitations

*Acknowledge Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Grohmann (BHT, Fachbereich V Life Sciences und Technology, Labor für Mikrobiologie) in any publication.

How to cite

*Acknowledge Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Grohmann (BHT, Fachbereich V Life Sciences und Technology, Labor für Mikrobiologie) in any publication.

Host tropism

Depending on the specific strain in humans and many other vertebrates (domestic animals, livestock and wild animals: cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, horses, rabbits, poultry).

S. aureus has so-called local varieties, i.e. specific S. aureus strains are specifically adapted to their respective hosts, and can be detected only in humans or only in animals.

Therefore, domesticated or feral animals are generally not reservoirs for theS . aureus strains which are significant in human medicine; however, transmission from animals (hogs and poultry) to humans was recently confirmed for certain methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains (= livestock-associated (LA) MRSA).

Human MRSA strains are found at higher rates both in hospital environments (patients and personnel) (= hospital-associated (HA) MRSA), and independently in the general population (= community-associated (CA) MRSA).

This biological agent is host-dependent parasitical.

This biological agent is host dependent-commensalic.

Staphylococcus aureus lives as a commensal partner on skin and mucous membranes in humans and animals, where it is part of the normal physiological body flora.

In humans, it primarily colonises skin surfaces (axillae, inguinal regions and perineal regions), the mucous membranes of the nose (vestibule of the nose) and pharynx, the milk ducts of the mammary glands, head hair and (less commonly) the intestinal and genital regions.

Its pronounced environmental resistance (tenacity) results in long survival times on practically all organic and inorganic surfaces.

Route of Transmission

Transmission takes place percutaneously (through the skin).

Transmission takes place via inhalation (by breathe).

Transmission takes place orally (by ingestion).

Staphylococcus aureus is most commonly transmitted by smear infection from human to human (hand contact). Usually slight skin wounds or abrasions serve as portals of entry for the pathogen (percutaneous route). However, an infection can also originate in a person's own skin or mucous membrane flora; this person often remains asymptomatic for long periods.

Since S. aureus is highly resistant to dehydration, transmission may also take place aerogenically by inhalation of dust or aerosols bearing a high microbial burden, particularly from the surroundings of infected animals.

Humans infect themselves orally by ingestion of contaminated animal foods (e.g. meat).

Specific methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains are transmitted from humans to animals and vice versa.

Zoonosis (transmission between animals and humans): Yes

Transmission from animals to humans has been well documented since some time now for specific, methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains. This particularly applies to the MRSA strain ST (sequence type) 398, which commensally colonises primarily hogs, poultry and to a lesser extent, cattle. In recent times, further MRSA strains have appeared in these domestic animal stocks; they are collectively referred to as livestock-associated (LA) MRSA strains. These are transmitted by direct contact to the animal or animal product and result in a high colonisation rate in accordingly exposed persons (e.g. farmers, slaughterers, butchers, veterinarians and animal owners and caretakers) and wide spread in the direct environment (family members). There are numerous known cases of human illness (wound infections, pneumonia and endocarditis) due to LA-MRSA.

Characteristics e.g. sensitizing or toxic effects, resistance to antibiotics

Pathogenicity:

Facultative human-pathogenic (it does not necessarily cause diseases in humans).

Facultative animal-pathogenic (it does not necessarily cause diseases in animals).

Humans and animals are often asymptomatic carriers of host-specific adapted S. aureus strains.

Some 20 - 50 % of the healthy general population are permanently colonised by S. aureus without becoming ill. In animal hosts, S. aureus colonisation amounts to 90% in chickens, 42 % in hogs, 29% in sheep and 14 - 23 % in cattle.

The degree of pathogenicity of S. aureus is strain-specific and depends on the existence of various virulence factors (e.g. toxin formation), the infection site (local superficial skin-wound infections or deep systemic infections), but also on the immune status of the particular host (predisposing factors include, for example, skin irritation or wounds, weak immune defences due to underlying disorders such as diabetes, HIV, liver or heart disease, or certain infections e.g. with influenza A viruses).

Reproductive toxicity:

Teratogenic effects are known in connection with infections in pregnant women; in rare cases teratogenic effects have also occurred in the foetus during 4th - 9th month of gestation. These include infection of the umbilical stump (omphalitis) and sepsis, which are relatively common in new-borns as a result of the transmission of S. aureus during birth (peripartum); conjunctival infection (conjunctivitis); inflammation of the umbilical stump (omphalitis); necrotising soft-tissue infections; neonatal or premature-infant sepsis (early- and lateonset neonatal sepsis); and inflammations of the bone marrow (osteomyelitis).

Toxigenicity/Toxin formation:

Strain-specific formation of exotoxins: exfoliatin toxins (exfoliatin A and B), toxic shock syndrome toxin (TSST-1), enterotoxins A-H. Also forms numerous extracellular proteins and enzymes which have toxic effects on tissues: leukocidins (granulocyte and macrophage toxicity), haemolysins (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and deltahaemolysin) (haemolysins of erythrocytes or platelets). Some S. aureus strains (usually methicillinresistant S. aureus strains) form a bacteriophage-coding leukocidin (Panton-Valentine (PV) leukocidin) with strongly toxic, tissue-necrotising effects.

Resistances:

High resistance to desiccation, high salt content (tolerance up to 15 % w/v NaCl concentration), heat, UV rays and to some disinfectants.

Staphylococcus aureus therefore has long survival times outside hosts: e.g. up to 42 days on cadavers, up to 7 days on surfaces, 46 hours on glass, 17 hours in sunlight, 7 hours in UV light, 60 days on meat, up to 7 days on coins, and 30 minutes to 38 days on skin surfaces.

Dry heat (1 hour at 160 - 170 °C) destroys the otherwise heat-resistantS . aureus enterotoxins.

Effective disinfectants include: 70 % ethanol, chlorhexidine, 1 % sodium hypochlorite, 2 % glutaraldehyde, 0.25 % benzalkonium chloride and formaldehyde.

Antibiotic resistance: approx. 80 % of S. aureus strains are resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics due to forming penicillinase; spread of methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains (MRSA) which often show additional resistance to, for example, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, erythromycin or clindamycin. Like resistance to glycopeptides (vancomycin, teicoplanin), resistances to reserve antibiotics (tigecyclin, linezolid and daptomycin) tend to be rare.

In recent years, increased resistance to mupirocin has been reported.

Note ht:

Pathogenic for humans and vertebrates, but normally no transmission between the two host groups.

Note T:

Toxin production: prokaryotes capable of forming exotoxins. The "T" tag lays no claim to completeness, however, i.e. exotoxin-forming strains may also arise in types of prokaryote without this tag. The "T" tag adopted over from Annex III of Directive 2000/54/EC.

Footnote 17:

Recently, there have been reports of a zoonotic potential of S. aureus subsp. aureus, particularly for certain MRSA strains.

Approved as biological safety measure if taken as recipient organism for genetic engineering?

Genetically modified (GenTSV)

Risk group (BioStoffV)

2

Risk assessment

Risk accessment based on TRBA (Technical Rule for Biological Agents) 466 "Classification of prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) into risk groups": https://www.baua.de/DE/Angebote/Rechtstexte-und-Technische-Regeln/Regelwerk/TRBA/TRBA-466.html

Operation instructions (mandatory for RG2 and higher)

https://bioagent.dguv.de/data?name=826223

Occupational health care (according to ArbMedVV)

Optional health care:
In the case of tasks specifically involving contact and tasks involving incidental contact with biological agents classed as Risk Group 2 under the Biological Agents Ordinance (Biostoffverordnung, BioStoffV) or which involve a comparable risk, the employer must offer an optional health care. This does not apply when on account of the risk assessment and on account of the protective measures taken it can be assumed that there is no risk of infection.
An optional health care must also be offered if as a result of the exposure to biological agents
- a serious infectious illness is to be expected and post-exposure prophylatic measures are possible, or
- an infection has resulted.

Storage location of aliquots in the Biolab (just click Bearbeiten in the right corner of the header to add or change information in the table and use the menue in the left header to e.g. add a row)

Background

https://www.dsmz.de/collection/catalogue/details/culture/DSM-799

Cultivation and freezing protocols

DSM No.: 799

Medium 92 , 37°C
or
Medium 693 , 37°C
Incubation time: 1-2 days
Complete DSMZ Media List

Data sheets, further information