Evaluation of different chromogenic media for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC398 in broilers

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) has emerged in a wide variety of animal species, including poultry. The objective of this study was to evaluate three different chromogenic media for MRSA clonal complex (CC) 398 detection in broilers. On three Belgian poultry farms, 50 broiler chickens were sampled per farm from both nose shell and cloaca. All swab specimens were enriched and inoculated the following day on three chromogenic media: chromID MRSA (bioMérieux), Brilliance MRSA 2 Agar (Oxoid) and MRSASelect (Bio-Rad). ChromID had the highest isolation rates, yet, Brilliance MRSA 2 Agar demonstrated the highest relative sensitivity, while MRSASelect and Brilliance MRSA 2 Agar showed the highest relative specificity. A subset of MRSA isolates was confirmed to be CC398 by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting sau1-hsdS1. In conclusion, Brilliance MRSA 2 Agar outperformed MRSASelect and chromID MRSA for the detection of MRSA in broilers.