Epidemiology, Spa Typing, and Antimicrobial Resistance of Staphylococcus aureus from Pigeons in Xinjiang, China

Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) is a significant zoonotic foodborne pathogen of transmission between hosts and therefore a priority for public health surveillance. Nevertheless, data on the epidemiology of S. aureus in pigeons are limited. This study investigated the epidemiological characteristics of S. aureus 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, spa typing, and virulence gene profiling. Overall, S. aureus 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 S. aureus isolates, 98.76% harbored at least one virulence gene; the most frequently detected were clfA (97.52%) and hla (80.75%). Moreover, 72.67% ( n = 117) carried at least one enterotoxin gene, with seu being the most prevalent (47.21%). 161 S. aureus had present the 15 spa types, predominantly t502 (29.81%), t267 (24.22%), t127 (16.15%), t78 (10.56%), and t34 (7.45%). Notably, spa type t34 was also identified among S. aureus isolates from patients in Chinese intensive care units (13.33%). These results indicate substantial S. aureus contamination in the Xinjiang pigeon production chain: the isolates exhibited a high antibiotic resistance, frequently carried multiple virulence genes, and included spa types overlapping with human strains, posing a potential public health risk.