Staphylococcus sciuri as a part of skin, nasal and oral flora in healthy dogs

The coagulase -negative species Staphylococcus sciuri is widespread in natu re and is associated with a variety of domestic and wild animals. However, the occurrence of S. sciuri in dogs has received little attention so far. I n the present study, we established the prevalence of S. sciuri in a large population of healthy dogs, and characterized isolated strains. Samples fro m two mucous membrane sites (anterior nares and mouth), and two hair-coated sites (head and withers) were taken from 122 dogs and inoculated into STS agar, a novel selective medium that was introduced and tested in the study. In total, 116 isolates of S. sciuri were obtained from 488 specimens. S. s ciuri was isolated from 56 out of 122 (46%) dogs. The occurrence of S. sciu ri in the anterior nares and mouth were significantly higher than those in withers and head. No significant association of S. sciuri occurrence in dog s and factors such as sex, age, and living environment (indoor/outdoor) was found. Out of 56 dogs, which tested positive for S. sciuri, 30 (54%) would have it as a resident flora. Thus, we showed that S. sciuri was frequently present as a part of skin, nasal and oral flora in healthy dogs both as a resident and transient carriage. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.