A major methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone predominates in Malaysian hospitals

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Malaysian hospitals. A total of 264 MRSA isolates from eight hospitals were subjected to typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI restricted DNA. Antibiotic disk susceptibility testing was also carried out to determine their resistance patterns. Thirty-one PFGE pattern types were identified. Three major pattern types A, ZC and K were found with type A the predominant profile in c. 80% of strains and present in all hospitals. Unlike type A, other DNA pattern types were unique to the hospitals in which they were isolated. PFGE type A also consisted of strains that were multiply antibiotic resistant. The presence of a single predominant PFGE type in Malaysian hospitals is an important finding which suggests that inter-hospital spread of MRSA had occurred frequently and regularly.

Occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from zoom-koom beverage and ice in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Indeed, it was reported that EPEC is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and is the major cause of infantile diarrhoea in developing countries (Clarke et al, 2002). According to Norazah et al (1998) in Malaysia, EPEC presence in food indicated fecal contamination consecutive to unhygienic practices. The presence of EPEC in traditional drinks and edible ice could pose serious threats to the health of many consumers, like the "zoom-koom" and ice, which are highly consumed in Ouagadougou City.…”