Case–control risk factor study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) infection in dogs and cats in Germany

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) has emerged as a highly drug-resistant small animal veterinary pathogen. Although often isolated from outpatients in veterinary clinics, there is concern that MRSP follows a veterinary-hospital-associated epidemiology. This study's objective was to identify risk factors for MRSP infections in dogs and cats in Germany. Clinical isolates of MRSP cases (n=150) and methicillin-susceptible S. pseudintermedius (MSSP) controls (n=133) and their corresponding host signalment and medical data covering the six months prior to staphylococcal isolation were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. The identity of all MRSP isolates was confirmed through demonstration of S. intermedius-group specific nuc and mecA. In the final model, cats (compared to dogs, OR 18.5, 95% CI 1.8–188.0, P=0.01), animals that had been hospitalised (OR 104.4, 95% CI 21.3–511.6, P10 visits OR 7.3, 95% CI 1.0–52.6, P=0.049) and those that had received topical ear medication (OR 5.1, 95% CI 1.8–14.9, P=0.003) or glucocorticoids (OR 22.5, 95% CI 7.0–72.6, P