Molecular characterization of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from hospitals environments and patients in Northern Palestine

Abstract


 BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is considered one of the most common pathogen to humans. Infections caused by this mocroorganism can be acquired through both hospital and community settings. This study was carried out to investigate molecular characterization of MRSA strains isolated from the patients and their environment in two hospitals (Rafidia hospital and Thabet hospital) inNorthern Palestine, and to determine the clonal identity between these strains and their possible contribution to nosocomial infections.
 METHODS: Two hundred sixty five swabbed samples were collected from these hospitals, S. aureus was isolated, antibiotic resistant genes were Panton–Valentin leukocidin (PVL) gene were detected and SCCmec and spA were typed by PCR and/or sequencing.
 RESULTS: The prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates was 29% and 8.2% in Rafidia hospital and Thabet hospital, respectively. All strains resistant to oxacilllin disk were carried mecA gene. Majority of strains (84.6%) carried SCCmec type II (n = 11), type IVa and non-typeable were also detected. In addition, PVL was detected in 2 (14.3%) clinical strains. ERIC PCR patterns revealed that 2 strains recovered from patient bed and nasal swab isolated from Thabet Hospital were nontypeable, spA typing showed that they belonged to type t386 and have identical DNA sequences. Other 2 clinical isolates were spa typed, one belonged to clone t044, while the other is new clone not exist in database.
 CONCLUSIONS: Results may give evidence that environmental contamination possibly contributing to nosocomial infections.

Prevalence of mecA and Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Genes in Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Isolates from Gaza Strip Hospitals

“…Moreover, one limitation of this study is that only mecA genes were thought of and that even though rare, future evaluations need to include the mecC gene. The prevalence in our study was higher than that reported by previous studies conducted in Gaza and the West Bank (56.3%, 29%, and 45%, respectively) except for one that reported a slightly higher prevalence (82.3%), which could be explained by the phenotypic detection method used (oxacillin discs) which is known to be less specific than molecular testing [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 37 ]. Our results are comparable to those reported in Jordan, Egypt, and Cyprus, where more than 50% of the invasive S. aureus isolates were methicillin-resistant [ 38 ].…”

“…The highest rate of PVL among hospitals in the Gaza Strip was found in Al Naser and Al Aqsa hospitals (32.9% and 31.7% respectively). In comparison with previous studies that were conducted in Palestine, our results are consistent with those of two hospitals from the West Bank and East Jerusalem [23] (29.5%) but higher than those of Rafidia and Thabet hospitals (West Bank) [37] and from healthy children throughout the Gaza Strip [21] (14.3% and 8.5%, respectively). These differences in PVL prevalence could be a reflection of the different dominant MRSA clones circulating in these regions that may or may not harbor pvl genetic determinants.…”