First report on MRSA recovered from wild boars in the north of Portugal

Antibiotic resistance is an emerging public health concern and the scientific community recognizes the need to evaluate its epidemiology. Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a key to this problem. Often found in the natural flora of the skin, nose and mouth of humans and animals, these bacteria can cause both minor skin infections and serious diseases that can result in death. Apart from the hospital concern, this bacterium is becoming increasingly common in infections associated to both human and animal communities with high rates of antibiotic resistance. There is little information on the prevalence of MRSA in wild animals. For this reason, our research group aims to determine the prevalence of these bacteria in wild animals as well as to characterize the resistance genes and genetic lineages circulating in this ecosystem, supposedly free from antibiotic use.