Seyedeh Alemeh Hosseinian - D.V.M; Ph.D; Department of Clinical Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran,
Seyed Amir Hashemi Hazaveh - Department of Clinical Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus is a highly versatile pathogen of a large number of domestic ani- mals, including avian species. There is limited information about S. aureus isolated from companion and wild birds in Iran. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine drug resistance and random-amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) pattern of S. aureus isolated from birds referred to the pet birds’ clinic of University of Tehran. METHODS: During the study period, 53 isolates of S. aureus were recovered from companion birds of var- ious species using standard bacteriologic procedures and the respective drug resistance patterns were deter- mined for a panel of 30 antimicrobial agents by agar disk-diffusion method. RAPD-PCR was performed with two different 10-bp oligonucleotide primers in a duplex-PCR procedure. RESULTS: The findings of this study demonstrated that S. aureus resistance to oxacillin, clindamycin and methicillin were 58, 53 and 53%, respectively. The multi-drug resistance (MDR) was found among all isolates. The MDR pattern was variable and ranged from 0 to 17 drugs. In total, all 53 isolates generated 43 different resistance patterns. In RAPD-PCR, five different patterns of A, B, C, D and E were found. Among 53 isolates, 20, 62, 3, 9 and 3% belonged to RAPD patterns of A, B, C, D and E, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed the widespread antimicrobial resistance among S. aureus isolated from pet birds; in particular, the presence of MRSA isolates. The value of RAPD-PCR for epidemiologic monitoring of S. aureus in pet birds also was noticed.  

Companion birds, drug resistance, molecular epidemiology, RAPD-PCR, Staphylococcus aureus