Background:Staphylococcus aureus is amongst major human pathogens both in hospitals and the community. This bacterium is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for a large number of self-limiting and even life-threatening diseases in humans. Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains are common causes of emerging nosocomial infections and are considered as a major problem for public health.Objectives:We aimed to study the profile of some virulence genes including: sea, seb, sed, tst, eta, etb, LuKS/F-PV, hla and hld in methicillin-resistant S. aureus by the PCR technique.Materials and Methods:A total of 345 isolates of S. aureus were collected from clinical specimens of patients referred to teaching hospitals of Shiraz; identification was done by biochemical (catalase, coagulase and DNase) and molecular tests. One hundred and forty six isolates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) were obtained and the presence of some toxin genes in these isolates was investigated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.Results:The results showed that among the 345 isolates of S. aureus, 148 were confirmed as MRSA by screening with the cefoxitin disc diffusion (30 µg) method. Also among the 148 MRSA isolates, 146 isolates were confirmed as methicillin-resistant by molecular methods. The results showed that the frequency of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus isolates during 2012 to 2013 in Namazi and Faghihi hospitals were 146 (42.3%) and 199 (57.7%), respectively. Besides, among the 146 confirmed MRSA isolates, 36.98% (54 isolates) and 63.02% (92 isolates) were related to female and male, respectively. The largest number of cases belonged to sputum samples (58 out of 146). The frequency of the eta, etb, sed, LuKS/F-PV, seb, tst, sea, hld and hla genes were 0.68%, 2.05%, 2.05%, 5.47%, 10.95%, 11.64%, 27.39%, 84.24% and 93.15%, respectively. In addition, amongst all examined genes, hla (93.15%) and eta (0.68%) genes had the highest and lowest frequencies, respectively. The greatest coexistence of genes was observed for the hla + hld gene combination (48.83%). The results of our study indicate that 98.63% of the isolates were positive for at least one of the virulence genes.Conclusions:The relative higher frequency of some virulence genes in this study may reflect the emergence of isolates containing these genes in Shiraz medical centers.

The present study investigated the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) from aerial parts (flowering stage) of Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch by GC–MS. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the EO as well as its antimicrobial activity against methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains was tested. Antioxidant activity was measured by the ability of the EO to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals while the antimicrobial activity was assessed by the disc-diffusion method. In total, 52 compounds were recognized, accounting for 97.33 % of the EO. The main compounds in the EO were carvacrol (22.49 %), dihydrocarvone (13.23 %), linalool (12 %), 1,8-cineol (11.42 %), camphene (8.31 %), thymol (5.28 %), camphor (3.71 %), pulegone (2.82 %) α-terpineol (2.11 %), bornyl acetate (1.14 %), and farganol (1.01 %). The EC50 value of the EO was 0.01 and 0.08 mg/mL for the antioxidant and DPPH-scavenging ability, respectively. A. wilhelmsii EO affected methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and MRSA, but the impact was more effective on MSSA.

Background:Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) continues to be a major cause of nosocomial infections. Methicillin resistance in S. aureus is caused by the acquisition of the mecA gene, located on a mobile genetic element called the staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC).Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of the predominant SCCmec type present among clinical isolates.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional study was performed on a total of 146 MRSA isolates obtained from clinical specimens between 2012 and 2013 from two major hospitals in Shiraz, Southwest of Iran. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles were determined by the disc diffusion method according to the guidelines of The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Bacterial DNA was extracted using the small-scale phenol-chloroform extraction method and was employed as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) templates for the assigned current SCCmec types.Results:The assigned SCCmec types by PCR revealed the SCCmec type I as the predominant type with 86 (58.9%) samples, followed by the SCCmec type II with 29 (19.9%), type III with 16 (11.0%), and type IV with 12 (8.2%) samples, respectively. The SCCmec type I MRSA isolates were significantly recovered from blood (80%) and sputum (67.2%). The results of antibacterial susceptibility tests for the MRSA isolates showed that all of those carrying the SCCmec type I and II had significantly greater resistance rates to Gentamicin and Rifampin than the isolates containing the SCCmec type III. Also, a significant difference was detected for susceptibility to Co-trimoxazole between the SCCmec type I and II MRSA isolates and the SCCmec type III, which was more resistant.Conclusions:The frequency of the isolates containing type I in the current study can indicate an emergence of this SCCmec type in the studied medical centers.

No abstract

Background: Nosocomial infections constitute a global health problem, leading to a high rate of morbidity and mortality. The choice of antimicrobial treatment for nosocomial infections is often empirical and based on the knowledge of local antimicrobial activity patterns of the most common bacteria causing such infections. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the 3 most prevalent bacterial pathogens including Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus causing nosocomial infections and their antimicrobial resistant profiles in patients admitted to three hospitals in Tehran city, Iran. Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, the A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus isolates were obtained from different samples of patients with nosocomial infections admitted to different wards of three hospitals including Milad, Motahary and Loghman from November 2014 to April 2015. Nosocomial infections were defined as a culture-proven infection, which occurred more than 48 hours after admission. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Results: In total, 539 samples were collected during the study period from patients with nosocomial infections. Overall, 198, 75 and 98 A. baumannii, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus isolates were obtained, respectively. Cefepim and meropenem were found to be the most effective antibiotics for nosocomial infections caused by S. aureus with only 1 resistant isolate. Resistance to gentamicin and amikacin and susceptibility to cefepim was the highest compared to other antibiotics amongst P. aeruginosa isolates which is in consistent with the fact that cephalosporins remain useful agents for the management of nosocomial infections caused by P. aeruginosa. Acinetobacter baumannii isolates showed lower susceptibility rates to imipenem and ciprofloxacin than other antibiotics with 189 and 187 resistant isolates, respectively; however 155 isolates were susceptible to co-trimoxazole and ceftazidime. The high resistant rate amongst A. baumannii to carbapenems is likely consequence of heavy empirical usage of this group of antibiotics. Conclusions: The high prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the hospitals highlights the need for further infection control programs. Future regional epidemiological data on antimicrobial resistance patterns will be required to implement strict national antibiotic policies to restrict the spread of these resistance bugs.