Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Mobile Phones

Abstract

The widespread use of mobile phones (MP) among healthcare personnel might be considered as an important source of contamination. One of the most pathogenic bacteria to humans is Staphylococcus aureus, which can be transmitted through the constant use of MP. Nevertheless, which specific type of strains are transmitted and which are their sources have not been sufficiently studied. The aim of this study is to determine the source of contamination of MP and characterize the corresponding genotypic and phenotypic properties of the strains found. Nose, pharynx, and MP samples were taken from a group of health science students. We were able to determinate the clonality of the isolated strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and spa gene typing (spa-type). Adhesin and toxin genes were detected, and the capacity of biofilm formation was determined. Several of the MP exhibited strains of S. aureus present in the nose and/or pharynx of their owners. methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (HA-MRSA), and community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) strains were found, which indicated a variety of genotypes. This study concludes that MP can be contaminated with the strains of S. aureus present in the nose and/or pharynx of the owners; these strains can be of different types and there is no dominant genotype.

Antibiotic Susceptibility Profiling of Human Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus Strains Using Whole Genome Sequencing and Genome-Scale Annotation Approaches

“…Moreover, the analysis of 88 MRSA collected from 5 hospitals in Makkah demonstrated the presence of 2.3% S. aureus positive for the etb toxin gene, and none of the tested strains harbored the eta toxin gene [ 83 ]. According to Hamdan-Partida et al [ 84 ], the seb gene (63.8%), which was more prevalent in strains isolated from the pharynx, and the tsst gene (57.8%), which was more prevalent in nose strains, were the most common toxin genes discovered. Additionally, we did not detect yent1 (Enterotoxin Yent1 ) and yent2 (Enterotoxin Yent2 ) genes.…”

MRSA compendium of epidemiology, transmission, pathophysiology, treatment, and prevention within one health framework

“…Recent trend in the prevalence of HA-MRSA was noted varying among the countries for example it was noted higher 58.4% from Portugal in 2013 ( Tavares et al, 2013 ), 46% from India in 2009 ( Arora et al, 2010 ), 52% from Pakistan in 2017 ( Siddiqui et al, 2017 ), 45% from China from 2015 to 2017 ( Chen et al, 2022 ), and 38.9% from Norway from 2008 to 2016 ( Enger et al, 2022 ). However, with the increasing prevalence of HA-MRSA in different countries, MRSA prevalence also noted lower in many such as 4.6% from Germany ( Sassmannshausen et al, 2016 ), 25% from Texas ( Davis et al, 2004 ), 19.1% from Mexico ( Hamdan-Partida et al, 2022 ), 15.1% from Australia ( Coombs et al, 2022 ), and 26% from Italy ( La Vecchia et al, 2022 ) are summarized in Table 1 . Similar increasing and decreasing trend of MRSA prevalence from different countries also noted for CA-MRSA such as 79% from Japan ( Ogura et al, 2022 ), 84.9% from Australia ( Coombs et al, 2022 ), 64.7% from India ( Alvarez-Uria and Reddy, 2012 ), 61% from Norway ( Enger et al, 2022 ), and 44.3% from Iran ( Tabandeh et al, 2022 ) with lower prevalence from Egypt (16%) ( Mostafa et al, 2022 ), China [1.7% ( Bi et al, 2018 ); 24% ( Chen et al, 2022 )], 7.3% from Gerorgia ( Hidron et al, 2005 ), and 12.8% from Switzerland ( Harbarth et al, 2005 ).…”

Bacterial Colonization of Mobile Phones: Myth or Reality

“…Participants' cell phones were also substantially less contaminated when they reported having cleaned them with an alcohol swab in the last 24 hours [ 2 ]. Studies conducted in developing countries have revealed a higher incidence of mobile phone contamination than those conducted in developed countries [ 4 , 8 ]. They have the potential to act as reservoirs for community-associated (CA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), healthcare-associated (HA)-MRSA, and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) strains [ 8 ].…”

“…Studies conducted in developing countries have revealed a higher incidence of mobile phone contamination than those conducted in developed countries [ 4 , 8 ]. They have the potential to act as reservoirs for community-associated (CA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), healthcare-associated (HA)-MRSA, and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) strains [ 8 ]. This study determined to assess the presence of bacteria and disinfection practices of mobile phones followed by the medical students regularly attending the wards.…”