Epidemiology, <i>Spa</i> Typing, and Antimicrobial Resistance of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> from Pigeons in Xinjiang, China

Staphylococcus aureus(<i>S. aureus</i>) is a significant zoonotic foodborne pathogen of transmission between hosts and therefore a priority for public health surveillance. Nevertheless, data on the epidemiology of <i>S. aureus</i> in pigeons are limited. This study investigated the epidemiological characteristics of <i>S. aureus</i> across the pigeon production chain (farms, slaughterhouses, and food markets) in Xinjiang. A total of 897 samples were collected from the pigeon production chain in Xinjiang. Bacterial isolation and characterization were performed, along with antimicrobial susceptibility testing, <i>spa</i> typing, and virulence gene profiling. Overall, <i>S. aureus</i> was detected in 23.52% of samples, with high resistance rates to several antibiotics: SIZ (96.21%), ampicillin (95.73%), tetracycline (75.83%), and azithromycin (67.77%). Of the 161 unique <i>S. aureus</i> isolates, 98.76% harbored at least one virulence gene; the most frequently detected were <i>clfA</i> (97.52%) and <i>hla</i> (80.75%). Moreover, 72.67% (<i>n</i> = 117) carried at least one enterotoxin gene, with <i>seu</i> being the most prevalent (47.21%). 161 <i>S. aureus</i> had present the 15 <i>spa</i> types, predominantly t502 (29.81%), t267 (24.22%), t127 (16.15%), t78 (10.56%), and t34 (7.45%). Notably, <i>spa</i> type t34 was also identified among <i>S. aureus</i> isolates from patients in Chinese intensive care units (13.33%). These results indicate substantial <i>S. aureus</i> contamination in the Xinjiang pigeon production chain: the isolates exhibited a high antibiotic resistance, frequently carried multiple virulence genes, and included <i>spa</i> types overlapping with human strains, posing a potential public health risk.