Screening Equine Skin and Mucous Membranes for Carriage of Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci.

Healthy horses frequently harbor susceptible S. aureus and S. delphini with minimal antimicrobial resistance.

This cross-sectional study characterized coagulase-positive Staphylococcus (CoPS) carriage in 150 healthy horses from seven facilities. Researchers sampled nares, buccal mucosa, and three skin sites, identifying isolates via MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and performing antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing. CoPS carriage occurred in 74% of horses, with Staphylococcus aureus in 18.7% and S. delphini in 15.3%. Increasing age was associated with decreased CoPS isolation odds. The nares proved the most sensitive single sampling site, though multisite sampling improved detection rates. Notably, meticillin-resistance was absent in all CoPS isolates, and S. delphini demonstrated full susceptibility to all tested antimicrobials. MLST analysis revealed multiple S. aureus sequence types, with some shared across horses at individual facilities, suggesting potential lateral transmission. Both S. delphini lineage groups were identified. These findings establish baseline data on CoPS commensal populations in healthy equine populations and highlight that while antimicrobial resistance is minimal, facility-based transmission patterns warrant monitoring.

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