1. Spa typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical samples of hospitalized patients, a study in the Wasit province of Iraq.
- Author
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Alhakeem, Karar, Nemati, Mostafa, Pourahmad, Fazel, and Alshimry, Hussam Sami
- Subjects
DNA analysis ,BACTERIAL protein analysis ,CHLORAMPHENICOL ,STAPHYLOCOCCAL diseases ,RESEARCH funding ,MICROBIAL sensitivity tests ,TETRACYCLINE ,DRUG resistance in microorganisms ,HOSPITAL care ,POLYMERASE chain reaction ,AGAR ,METHICILLIN-resistant staphylococcus aureus ,VANCOMYCIN resistance ,DISEASE prevalence ,CLINDAMYCIN ,GENTAMICIN ,ERYTHROMYCIN ,IMIPENEM ,STAINS & staining (Microscopy) ,ELECTROPHORESIS ,SEQUENCE analysis ,PENICILLIN ,CEFOXITIN ,RIFAMPIN ,HOSPITAL wards - Abstract
Introduction: Since its discovery in 1961, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been recognized as a significant healthcare-associated pathogen (HA-MRSA) and a notorious 'superbug'. Typing is crucial for surveillance, epidemiology analysis, infection control of MRSA and sequencing of the spa gene is one of the most common methods used for determining the origin of this bacterium in humans and animals. This research aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance and spa type of S. aureus strains collected from outpatients in two hospitals in the Wasit province of Iraq. Material & Methods: The study analyzed 200 outpatient MRSA isolates by collecting nasal and sputum samples from patients. Standard biochemical and molecular methods based on the nuc gene were used to identify S. aureus bacteria and amplify the mecA and spa genes. The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was employed to determine the antibiotic sensitivity of the isolates using penicillin, cefoxitin, vancomycin, gentamicin, erythromycin, tetracycline, imipenem, clindamycin, chloramphenicol and rifampicin. Results: Methods. The prevalence of MRSA was more common in women than in men. Antibiogram results showed that most of the isolates were resistant to penicillin (94.2%) and sensitive to imipenem (100%), clindamycin (100%), and chloramphenicol (100%). Of these 35 isolates, 30 (87.5%) and 26 strains (74.3%) were positive for the mecA and spa genes. Typing based on spa gene sequencing revealed four different patterns: t386, t3579, U0002 and U0234. Conclusion: Variations in the spa gene among different S. aureus isolates may he of clinical importance when treating staphylococcal infections. In this study, spa typing revealed four different patterns in Iraq, representing diagnostic and therapeutic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024