Table 1. Detection of S. aureus by country and host species.
| Order/family | Species | Animals examined (total) | S. aureus detected (total) | Animals examined (Germany)* | S. aureus identified (Germany) | Animals examined (Austria) | S. aureus identified (Austria) | Animals examined (Sweden) | S. aureus identified (Sweden) |
| Waterfowl (Anatidae) | Mute swan, Cygnus olor | 65 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 65 | CC133-MSSA (n = 1) |
| Greylag goose, Anser anser | 1 | 0 | 1 (fecal sample, SX) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Raptors (Accipitridae) | Golden eagle, Aquila chrysaetos | 71 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 71 | CC97-MSSA and CC692-MSSA (from a single animal); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 1) °° |
| White-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla | 4 | 1 | 3 (TH) | 0 | - | - | 1 | CC692-MSSA (n = 1) | |
| Red kite, Milvus milvus | 1 | 1 | 1 (BB) | CC692-MSSA (n = 1) | - | - | - | - | |
| Gulls (Laridae) | Herring Gull, Larus argentatus | 1 | 0 | 1 (TH) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Owls (Strigiformes) | Tawny owl, Strix aluco | 8 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 | CC692-MSSA (n = 1) |
| Barn owl, Tyto alba | 1 | 0 | 1 (fecal sample, BB) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Long-eared owl, Asio otus | 3 | 0 | 3 (fecal sample and pellets, TH) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Fowl (Phasianidae) | Grey partridge, Perdix perdix | 190 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 190 | CC5-MSSA (n = 1); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 1) °° |
| Woodpeckers (Picidae) | Green woodpecker, Picus viridis | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | CC692-MSSA (n = 1); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 1) °° |
| Perching birds (Passeriformes) | Common magpie, Pica pica | 29 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 29 | CC692-MSSA (n = 3) |
| Rook, Corvus frugilegus | 102 | 9 | - | - | 102 (faecal samples) | CC15-MSSA (n = 1); CC88-MSSA (n = 3); ST1-MRSA-IV (n = 2)**; ST22-MRSA-IV[PVL+] (n = 3) ** | - | - | |
| Carrion crow, Corvus corone | 1 | 0 | 1 (SX) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Great tit, Parus major | 11 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 11 | CC692-MSSA (n = 1) | |
| Blackbird, Turdus merula | 1 | 0 | 1 (SX) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Order/family | Species | Animals examined (total) | S. aureus detected (total) | Animals examined (Germany)* | S. aureus identified (Germany) | Animals examined (Austria) | S. aureus identified (Austria) | Animals examined (Sweden) | S. aureus identified (Sweden) |
| Insectivores | Hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus | 199 | 6 | 5 (TH) | CC130-MRSA-XI (n = 1); CC599-MRSA-XI (n = 1) | - | - | 194 | CC130-MRSA-XI (n = 2)***; S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 2) °° |
| Shrew, unidentified Soricidae | 2 | 0 | 2 (SX, TH) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Mole, Talpa europaea | 4 | 0 | 2 (TH), 2 (NRW) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Bats | Parti-coloured bat, Vespertilio murinus | 1 | 0 | 1 (TH) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| Rodents | Bank vole, Myodes glareolus | N/A | 4 | N/A (fecal samples from an unknown number of animals) | CC49-MSSA (n = 2); ST890-MSSA (n = 1); ST1959-MSSA (n = 1) | - | - | - | - |
| Brown rat, Rattus norvegicus | N/A | 1 | N/A (fecal samples from an unknown number of animals) | CC130-MSSA [lukF-P83/lukM+] (n = 1) | - | - | - | - | |
| European marmot, Marmota marmota | 14 | 2 | - | - | 14 | CC8-MSSA (n = 1); CC30-MSSA [lukF-P83/lukM+] (n = 1) | - | - | |
| Red squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris | 1 | 0 | 1 (NRW) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Carnivores | Racoon, Procyon lotor | 3 | 0 | 3 (BB, SX, NRW) | 0 | - | - | - | - |
| European badger, Meles meles | 28 | 4 | 3 (NRW), 3 (TH) | CC25-MSSA (n = 1); ST425-MSSA (n = 2) | - | - | 22 | ST425-MSSA (n = 1) | |
| Beech marten, Martes foina | 6 | 0 | 6 (NRW) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Mink, M.lutreola/N.vison | 1 | 0 | 1 (SX) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Least weasel, Mustela nivalis | 1 | 0 | 1 (TH) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Red fox, Vulpes vulpes | 445 | 12 | 1 (SX), 1 (TH), 1 (BV), 92 (NRW) | CC1-MSSA (n = 1); CC22-MSSA (n = 1); ST425-MSSA (n = 1); CC130-MRSA-XI (n = 1) | 29 | CC7-MSSA (n = 1); CC8-MSSA (n = 1) | 321 | CC6-MSSA (n = 1); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 5) | |
| Lynx, Lynx lynx | 331 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 331 | CC2767-MSSA (n = 1); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 1) | |
| Wild cat, Felis silvestris | 1 | 2 | 1 | C49- and ST2963-MSSA from one animal | - | - | - | - | |
| Suids | Wild boar, Sus scrofa | 160 | 8 | 22 (NRW), 1 (TH), 1 (LS) | CC59-MSSA (n = 1); CC133-MSSA (n = 1); ST425-MSSA (n = 1) | 46 | CC9-MSSA (n = 1); CC97-MSSA (n = 2) | 90 | S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 2) °° |
| Ruminants | Moose, Alces alces | 505 | 29 | - | - | - | - | 505 | CC15-MSSA (n = 1); CC97-MSSA (n = 15); ST2691-MSSA (n = 2); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 11) °° |
| Roe deer, Capreolus capreolus | 437 | 38 | 65 (NRW) | ST425-MSSA (n = 22); ST133-MSSA (n = 2); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 7) | 9 | ST133-MSSA (n = 3) | 363 | CC97-MSSA (n = 4) | |
| Sika deer, Cervus nippon | 4 | 2 | 4 (NRW) | ST3237-MSSA (n = 1) | — | - | - | ||
| Red deer, Cervus elaphus | 8 | 3 | 2 (NRW, TH) | ST425-MSSA (n = 1) | 6 | ST425-MSSA (n = 2) | - | - | |
| Fallow deer, Dama dama | 10 | 3 | 10 (NRW) | CC1-MSSA (n = 2); CC130-MRSA-XI (n = 1) | - | - | - | - | |
| Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus | 92 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 92 | CC707-MSSA (n = 1); CC2767-MSSA (n = 1) | |
| Chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra | 3 | 1 | - | - | 3 | CC133-MSSA (n = 1) | - | - | |
| Mouflon, Ovis orientalis | 31 | 3 | 2 (NRW) | CC1-MSSA (n = 2) | 29 | CC8-MSSA (n = 1) | - | - | |
| Lagomorphs | European brown hare, Lepus europaeus | 178 | 8 | 11 (NRW), 42 (SH), 1 (TH) | CC5-MSSA (n = 2); CC130-MRSA-XI (n = 2) °; CC398-MRSA-V/VT (n = 1) | - | - | 124 | ST2425-MSSA (n = 2); S. aureus, not genotyped (n = 1) °° |
| Wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus | 5 | 0 | 5 (NRW) | 0 | - | - | - | - | |
| Cetaceans | Harbour porpoise, Phocoena phocoena | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | CC12-MSSA (n = 1) |
* German Federal States are abbreviated as follows: Bavaria, BV; Brandenburg, BB; Lower Saxony, LS; North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW; Saxony, SX; Schleswig-Holstein, SH; Thuringia, TH
** Described in detail in [77]
*** Described in detail in [39]
° Sampled in 2012, described in detail in [104]
°° Not genotyped and not available for testing anymore. The number was provided in order to give a realistic impression of the prevalence of S. aureus in the respective host species.