Molecular typing of MRSA isolates by spa and PFGE

Background Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains circulating among populations and crossing borders constitute a major problem for health control and require a fast and simple genotypic approach. Methods In the current study we compared staphylococcal protein A (spa) and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing methods to genotype 106 MRSA clinical isolates. Results The genetic spectrum of the isolates was very diverse as revealed by the two typing approaches. In total, we identified 35 spa types in the study. The most frequently detected spa type in the study was t044 (30.18%), followed by t127 and t304 (5.6% each), t363 (4.6%), and t1200 and t002 (3.8% each). The rest of isolates were detected in low frequency and many were singletons. PFGE genotyping identified 34 pulsogroups. Most of the isolates were clustered in pulsogroup J. There was no clustering of the spa types into the pulsogroups. Conclusions MRSA isolates are very diverse in the region. In light of the observed MRSA diversity the spa typing could constitute a preferable approach for MRSA typing.