Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 9 3 2017 10 22 152 159 EN Zohreh Ahangari Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Masoud Ghorbanpoor Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Masoud Reza Seifiabad Shapouri Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Darioush Gharibi Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Kiarash Ghazvini Department of Bacteriology and Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran AND Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, Bu-Ali Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran 2017 02 04 2017 09 04 Background and Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major causes of bovine mastitis, which can be transmitted from animals to humans. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates are more attentive and if not treated promptly, they can cause death. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of methicillin resistance and frequency of selected virulence factors of S. aureus isolates with bovine mastitis milk origin in Ahvaz, southwest of Iran. Materials and Methods: During a two-year period (2014-2015), 75 S. aureus isolates were recovered from referred clinical and sub-clinical bovine mastitis milk samples. The isolates were phenotypically investigated for resistance to cefoxitin by Kirby-Bauer method. DNA were analyzed by PCR for mecA and selected genes that encode the virulence factors. Results: According to the results, the spa, ebpS, fnb, bbp, clfA, clfB, and cna genes were detected in 98.7, 97.3, 97.3, 86.7, 84, 84 and 65.3% of the isolates, respectively. Among the 75 isolates, only one (1.3%) isolate was methicillin-resistant. Totally, 39 isolates (50.7%) had all of these virulence factors except mecA. The results showed that 96% of the isolates had at least the fnb, ebpS and spa genes, signifying the noteworthy role of these genes in the pathogenesis of S. aureus bovine intra-mammary infection in this area. Conclusion: In the present study, the prevalence of mecA was relatively low, possibly indicating that cows do not play a significant role in community-acquired MRSA infection in this area. According to the results, studied virulence factors were somewhat prevalent, bearing in mind the probable risk of transmission of these isolates from cows to humans, especially those that are in close contact with infected cattle. The data presented here can be used for the introduction of a protective vaccine against this infection. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/1280 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/1280/734