Global distribution and diversity of ovine-associated Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen of many species, including sheep, and impacts on both human and animal health, animal welfare, and farm productivity. Here we present the widest global diversity study of ovine-associated S. aureus to date. We analysed 97 S. aureus isolates from sheep and sheep products from the UK, Turkey, France, Norway, Australia, Canada and the USA using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing. These were compared with 196 sheep isolates from Europe (n = 153), Africa (n = 28), South America (n = 14) and Australia (n = 1); 172 bovine, 68 caprine and 433 human S. aureus profiles. Overall there were 59 STs and 87 spa types in the 293 ovine isolates; in the 97 new ovine isolates there were 22 STs and 37 spa types, including three novel MLST alleles, four novel STs and eight novel spa types. Three main CCs (CC133, CC522 and CC700) were detected in sheep and these contained 61% of all isolates. Four spa types (t002, t1534, t2678 and t3576) contained 31% of all isolates and were associated with CC5, CC522, CC133 and CC522 respectively. spa types were consistent with MLST CCs, only one spa type (t1403) was present in multiple CCs. The three main ovine CCs have different but overlapping patterns of geographical dissemination that appear to match the location and timing of sheep domestication and selection for meat and wool production. CC133, CC522 and CC700 remained ovine-associated following the inclusion of additional host species. Ovine isolates clustered separately from human and bovine isolates and those from sheep cheeses, but closely with caprine isolates. As with cattle isolates, patterns of clonal diversification of sheep isolates differ from humans, indicative of their relatively recent host-jump

Driving laboratory standardisation of bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing in veterinary clinical microbiology in Europe and beyond.

Globally, antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important public health challenges in which the clinical microbiology laboratory plays a critical role by providing guidance for antimicrobial treatment. Despite the recognition of its importance, there is still a real need for standardized training of clinical microbiologists and harmonisation of diagnostic procedures. This is particularly true for veterinary clinical microbiology where additional challenges exist when microbiologists are trying to fulfil a professional role very similar to their colleagues working in human microbiology laboratories. The specific points that need addressing to improve the outputs of veterinary microbiology laboratories discussed here include 1) harmonisation of methodologies used by veterinary laboratories for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST); 2) specific guidelines for interpretation and reporting of AST results for animal pathogens; 3) guidelines for detection of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms in animal isolates; 4) standardisation of diagnostic procedures for animal clinical specimens and 5) the need to train more veterinary clinical microbiology specialists. However, there is now a plan to address these issues led by the European Network for Optimisation of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment (ENOVAT) which is bringing together experts in veterinary microbiology, pharmacology, epidemiology and antimicrobial stewardship from Europe and wider afield. ENOVAT is aiming to work with project partners towards standardisation and harmonisation of laboratory methodologies and optimisation of veterinary antimicrobial treatment. Ultimately, the project may provide a mechanism for standardisation and harmonisation of veterinary clinical microbiology methodologies, which could then be used as a template for implementation at a wider international level

European multicenter study on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from companion animal urinary tract infections

BACKGROUND: There is a growing concern regarding the increase of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in companion animals. Yet, there are no studies comparing the resistance levels of these organisms in European countries. The aim of this study was to investigate geographical and temporal trends of antimicrobial resistant bacteria causing urinary tract infection (UTI) in companion animals in Europe. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 22 256 bacteria isolated from dogs and cats with UTI was determined. Samples were collected between 2008 and 2013 from 16 laboratories of 14 European countries. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of the most common bacteria was determined for each country individually in the years 2012-2013 and temporal trends of bacteria resistance were established by logistic regression. RESULTS: The aetiology of uropathogenic bacteria differed between dogs and cats. For all bacterial species, Southern countries generally presented higher levels of antimicrobial resistance compared to Northern countries. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli were found to be more prevalent in Southern countries. During the study period, the level of fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli isolated in Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands decreased significantly. A temporal increase in resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate and gentamicin was observed among E. coli isolates from the Netherlands and Switzerland, respectively. Other country-specific temporal increases were observed for fluoroquinolone-resistant Proteus spp. isolated from companion animals from Belgium. CONCLUSIONS: This work brings new insights into the current status of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from companion animals with UTI in Europe and reinforces the need for strategies aiming to reduce resistance

Measuring Tax Attractiveness Across Countries

This paper develops a new tax measure - the Tax Attractiveness Index - reflecting the attractiveness of a country's tax environment and the tax planning opportunities that are offered. Specifically, the Tax Attractiveness Index covers 16 different components of real-world tax systems, such as the statutory tax rate, the taxation of dividends and capital gains, withholding taxes, the existence of a group taxation regime, loss offset provision, the double tax treaty network, thin capitalization rules, and controlled foreign company (CFC) rules. We develop methods to quantify each tax factor. The Tax Attractiveness Index is constructed for 100 countries over the 2005 to 2009 period. Regional clusters in the index as well as in the application of certain tax rules can be observed. The evaluation of individual countries based on the index corresponds - but is not totally identical - with the OECD's black respectively grey list. By comparing the Tax Attractiveness Index with the statutory tax rate, we reveal that even high tax countries offer favorable tax condi-tions. Hence, the statutory tax rate is not a suitable proxy for a country's tax climate in any case since countries may set other incentives to attract firms and investments

Azithromycin resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella from food-producing animals and meat in Europe.

OBJECTIVES To characterize the genetic basis of azithromycin resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella collected within the EU harmonized antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance programme in 2014-18 and the Danish AMR surveillance programme in 2016-19. METHODS WGS data of 1007 E. coli [165 azithromycin resistant (MIC > 16 mg/L)] and 269 Salmonella [29 azithromycin resistant (MIC > 16 mg/L)] were screened for acquired macrolide resistance genes and mutations in rplDV, 23S rRNA and acrB genes using ResFinder v4.0, AMRFinder Plus and custom scripts. Genotype-phenotype concordance was determined for all isolates. Transferability of mef(C)-mph(G)-carrying plasmids was assessed by conjugation experiments. RESULTS mph(A), mph(B), mef(B), erm(B) and mef(C)-mph(G) were detected in E. coli and Salmonella, whereas erm(C), erm(42), ere(A) and mph(E)-msr(E) were detected in E. coli only. The presence of macrolide resistance genes, alone or in combination, was concordant with the azithromycin-resistant phenotype in 69% of isolates. Distinct mph(A) operon structures were observed in azithromycin-susceptible (n = 50) and -resistant (n = 136) isolates. mef(C)-mph(G) were detected in porcine and bovine E. coli and in porcine Salmonella enterica serovar Derby and Salmonella enterica 1,4, [5],12:i:-, flanked downstream by ISCR2 or TnAs1 and associated with IncIγ and IncFII plasmids. CONCLUSIONS Diverse azithromycin resistance genes were detected in E. coli and Salmonella from food-producing animals and meat in Europe. Azithromycin resistance genes mef(C)-mph(G) and erm(42) appear to be emerging primarily in porcine E. coli isolates. The identification of distinct mph(A) operon structures in susceptible and resistant isolates increases the predictive power of WGS-based methods for in silico detection of azithromycin resistance in Enterobacterales

Default Rates in the Loan Market for SMEs: Evidence from Slovakia

The current crisis raises the question whether loans to SMEs in emerging markets areinherently more risky. We use a unique unbalanced panel of nearly 700 loans made toSMEs in Slovakia between 2000 and 2005. Several probit and panel probit models showthat liquidity and profitability factors are important determinants of SME defaults.Moreover, we find that indebtedness significantly increases the probability of default.Finally, liability as proxied by the legal form of SMEs has important incentive effects.In sum, default rates and factors converged to values found in developed financialmarkets

Diversity of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates in European Wildlife

Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known colonizer and cause of infection among animals and it has been described from numerous domestic and wild animal species. The aim of the present study was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus in a convenience sample of European wildlife and to review what previously has been observed in the subject field. 124 S. aureus isolates were collected from wildlife in Germany, Austria and Sweden; they were characterized by DNA microarray hybridization and, for isolates with novel hybridization patterns, by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The isolates were assigned to 29 clonal complexes and singleton sequence types (CC1, CC5, CC6, CC7, CC8, CC9, CC12, CC15, CC22, CC25, CC30, CC49, CC59, CC88, CC97, CC130, CC133, CC398, ST425, CC599, CC692, CC707, ST890, CC1956, ST2425, CC2671, ST2691, CC2767 and ST2963), some of which (ST2425, ST2691, ST2963) were not described previously. Resistance rates in wildlife strains were rather low and mecA-MRSA isolates were rare (n = 6). mecC-MRSA (n = 8) were identified from a fox, a fallow deer, hares and hedgehogs. The common cattle- associated lineages CC479 and CC705 were not detected in wildlife in the present study while, in contrast, a third common cattle lineage, CC97, was found to be common among cervids. No Staphylococcus argenteus or Staphylococcus schweitzeri-like isolates were found. Systematic studies are required to monitor the possible transmission of human- and livestock- associated S. aureus/MRSA to wildlife and vice versa as well as the possible transmission, by unprotected contact to animals. The prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA in wildlife as well as its population structures in different wildlife host species warrants further investigation