Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry

Pawarut Narongpun; Pattrarat Chanchaithong; Wimonrat Tanomsridachchai; Narong Nuanmuang; Jeewan Thapa; Junya Yamagishi; Orasa Suthienkul; Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon; Frank M. Aarestrup; Chie Nakajima; Yasuhiko Suzuki

doi:10.1093/jac/dkaf313

Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry

Pawarut Narongpun
, Pattrarat Chanchaithong
, Wimonrat Tanomsridachchai
, Narong Nuanmuang
, Jeewan Thapa
, Junya Yamagishi
, Orasa Suthienkul
, Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon
, Frank M. Aarestrup
, Chie Nakajima
, Yasuhiko Suzuki^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Background
Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 is primarily found among pigs across Europe. However, CC398 has also been sporadically identified in several Asian countries, including Thailand. This study aimed to examine the drivers contributing to the emergence of LA-MRSA CC398 in Thailand's swine industry.

Methods
Whole-genome sequencing data of 18 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates from pigs, retail pork and swine workers in Thailand were analysed. Additionally, a total of 1197 qualified genomes from various sources in 24 countries were retrieved from Pathogenwatch. Subsequently, two SNP-based phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum likelihood (n = 1215) and Bayesian inference (n = 168).

Results
Our findings revealed that Staphylococcus aureus isolates with the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype were closely related to European isolates, including those from Denmark. In contrast, S. aureus isolates belonging to the CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 formed a phylogenetically distinct cluster.

Conclusions
This study reports that the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype identified in Thai pigs may have originated from Danish swine populations, possibly introduced into Thailand through international livestock movement. The CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 genotype was also detected in domestic pigs; however, it appears to have evolved independently from the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis estimates that the common ancestor of the composite genotype emerged earlier than that of the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype, indicating a separate evolutionary origin.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Volume	80
Issue number	11
Pages (from-to)	2912-2917
Number of pages	6
ISSN	0305-7453
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkaf313
Publication status	Published - 2025

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Narongpun, P., Chanchaithong, P., Tanomsridachchai, W., Nuanmuang, N., Thapa, J., Yamagishi, J., Suthienkul, O., Leekitcharoenphon, P., Aarestrup, F. M., Nakajima, C., & Suzuki, Y. (2025). Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 80(11), 2912-2917. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkaf313

@article{a276fa8a16fe4c0294b7440485441e0b,

title = "Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry",

abstract = "Background Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 is primarily found among pigs across Europe. However, CC398 has also been sporadically identified in several Asian countries, including Thailand. This study aimed to examine the drivers contributing to the emergence of LA-MRSA CC398 in Thailand's swine industry. Methods Whole-genome sequencing data of 18 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates from pigs, retail pork and swine workers in Thailand were analysed. Additionally, a total of 1197 qualified genomes from various sources in 24 countries were retrieved from Pathogenwatch. Subsequently, two SNP-based phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum likelihood (n = 1215) and Bayesian inference (n = 168). Results Our findings revealed that Staphylococcus aureus isolates with the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2\&5)-t034 genotype were closely related to European isolates, including those from Denmark. In contrast, S. aureus isolates belonging to the CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 formed a phylogenetically distinct cluster. Conclusions This study reports that the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2\&5)-t034 genotype identified in Thai pigs may have originated from Danish swine populations, possibly introduced into Thailand through international livestock movement. The CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 genotype was also detected in domestic pigs; however, it appears to have evolved independently from the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2\&5)-t034 genotype. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis estimates that the common ancestor of the composite genotype emerged earlier than that of the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2\&5)-t034 genotype, indicating a separate evolutionary origin.",

author = "Pawarut Narongpun and Pattrarat Chanchaithong and Wimonrat Tanomsridachchai and Narong Nuanmuang and Jeewan Thapa and Junya Yamagishi and Orasa Suthienkul and Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon and Aarestrup, \{Frank M.\} and Chie Nakajima and Yasuhiko Suzuki",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1093/jac/dkaf313",

language = "English",

volume = "80",

pages = "2912--2917",

journal = "Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry

AU - Narongpun, Pawarut

AU - Chanchaithong, Pattrarat

AU - Tanomsridachchai, Wimonrat

AU - Nuanmuang, Narong

AU - Thapa, Jeewan

AU - Yamagishi, Junya

AU - Suthienkul, Orasa

AU - Leekitcharoenphon, Pimlapas

AU - Aarestrup, Frank M.

AU - Nakajima, Chie

AU - Suzuki, Yasuhiko

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Background Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 is primarily found among pigs across Europe. However, CC398 has also been sporadically identified in several Asian countries, including Thailand. This study aimed to examine the drivers contributing to the emergence of LA-MRSA CC398 in Thailand's swine industry. Methods Whole-genome sequencing data of 18 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates from pigs, retail pork and swine workers in Thailand were analysed. Additionally, a total of 1197 qualified genomes from various sources in 24 countries were retrieved from Pathogenwatch. Subsequently, two SNP-based phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum likelihood (n = 1215) and Bayesian inference (n = 168). Results Our findings revealed that Staphylococcus aureus isolates with the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype were closely related to European isolates, including those from Denmark. In contrast, S. aureus isolates belonging to the CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 formed a phylogenetically distinct cluster. Conclusions This study reports that the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype identified in Thai pigs may have originated from Danish swine populations, possibly introduced into Thailand through international livestock movement. The CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 genotype was also detected in domestic pigs; however, it appears to have evolved independently from the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis estimates that the common ancestor of the composite genotype emerged earlier than that of the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype, indicating a separate evolutionary origin.

AB - Background Livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA) clonal complex (CC) 398 is primarily found among pigs across Europe. However, CC398 has also been sporadically identified in several Asian countries, including Thailand. This study aimed to examine the drivers contributing to the emergence of LA-MRSA CC398 in Thailand's swine industry. Methods Whole-genome sequencing data of 18 LA-MRSA CC398 isolates from pigs, retail pork and swine workers in Thailand were analysed. Additionally, a total of 1197 qualified genomes from various sources in 24 countries were retrieved from Pathogenwatch. Subsequently, two SNP-based phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum likelihood (n = 1215) and Bayesian inference (n = 168). Results Our findings revealed that Staphylococcus aureus isolates with the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype were closely related to European isolates, including those from Denmark. In contrast, S. aureus isolates belonging to the CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 formed a phylogenetically distinct cluster. Conclusions This study reports that the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype identified in Thai pigs may have originated from Danish swine populations, possibly introduced into Thailand through international livestock movement. The CC398-composite SCCmec-t034 genotype was also detected in domestic pigs; however, it appears to have evolved independently from the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis estimates that the common ancestor of the composite genotype emerged earlier than that of the CC398-SCCmec Vc (5C2&5)-t034 genotype, indicating a separate evolutionary origin.

U2 - 10.1093/jac/dkaf313

DO - 10.1093/jac/dkaf313

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 40856316

SN - 0305-7453

VL - 80

SP - 2912

EP - 2917

JO - Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

JF - Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

IS - 11

ER -

Emergence of livestock-associated MRSA clonal complex 398 in Thailand's swine industry

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