An overview of human infections caused by <em>Staphylococcus pseudintermedius:</em> A zoonotic risk of the oldest friend

<p><em>Staphylococcus pseudintermedius</em> is colonized in 90% of healthy dogs and the infection has also been reported in humans who have close contact with dogs.  <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> is a Gram positive coagulase positive coccus which is an opportunistic path...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: MAR Priyantha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology 2022-02-01
Series:Sri Lankan Journal of Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sljid.sljol.info/articles/8415
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Summary:<p><em>Staphylococcus pseudintermedius</em> is colonized in 90% of healthy dogs and the infection has also been reported in humans who have close contact with dogs.  <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> is a Gram positive coagulase positive coccus which is an opportunistic pathogen. Human infection has been reported less frequently either due to misidentification or misdiagnosis or to underreporting. The objective of this overview is to highlight the epidemiology, clinical presentation, importance of laboratory tests and antimicrobial resistance of <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> in humans.</p><p>Human infections of <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> have been reported as case studies or clusters of infections in the literature. Several cases have been reported among the adult population, and in patients with metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, immunocompromised states such as AIDS, cancers, and autoimmune diseases.  The organism had been isolated and identified both in healthy people and individuals with adverse clinical outcomes. <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> causes skin and soft tissue infections, catheter associated infections and surgical site infections in humans. The incidence of skin and soft tissue infection by <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> in humans was 0.025% in Canada. Methicillin resistance <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> (MRSP) has been isolated both in healthy people and associated with clinical infections. MRSP is often multidrug resistant and therapeutic options are limited. Multidrug resistance has been detected in methicillin susceptible <em>S. pseudintermedius </em>(MSSP). Close association of a canine host is the major risk factor in humans and vulnerable individuals need to be persuaded to practice hygienic practices to minimize the risk of zoonotic infection.</p><p>In conclusion, differentiation of <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> from <em>S. aureus</em> is required to understand the epidemiology of the disease, diagnosis, clinical presentation, and further interpretation of antimicrobial resistance in the human clinical context. Suitable hygienic practices post handling of dogs and improvement of laboratory facilities would help minimize the incidence of <em>S. pseudintermedius</em> infections in humans.</p>
ISSN:2012-8169
2448-9654