Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Hospitals and Community in Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Abstract

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious concern of the global health sector and more recently, an escalating problem in the community. Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the incidence of MRSA in hospital staff and community students in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq, and make a molecular comparison between the strains based on the detection of mecA gene and Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) gene. Methods: We obtained 109 and 103 samples from the nares of hospital staff and community students, respectively. Conventional laboratory tests were performed for the detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and antibiotic sensitivity testing to identify MRSA isolates. Besides, PCR was utilized for molecular analysis. Results: All isolates from hospital staff were identified as S. aureus. Out of the 109 isolates, 55 (50.4%) were MRSA carrying the mecA gene, among which 4/55 (3.7%) were MRSA-PVL positive. Additionally, 54/109 (49.5%) isolates were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) but four isolates (3.7%) were MSSA-PVL positive. Furthermore, 23/103 (22.3%) samples from community students were identified as S. aureus, among which 5/23 (21.7%) and 17/23 (73.9%) isolates were MSSA-PVL positive and MSSA-PVL negative, respectively. Moreover, 1/23 (4.3%) was found as MRSA and was PVL gene-positive. Conclusions: The results showed that MRSA is swarming in hospitals and community in Duhok, Iraq. The highest rate of PVL was associated with community-acquired-MSSA (CA-MRSA). With further genotypic study, immediate action is needed to control and reduce the spread of MRSA clones, determine their clonal relations, and conduct epidemiological investigations.

Frequency of Multidrug-Resistant, Extensively Drug-Resistant, and Pandrug-Resistant Phenotypes among Clinical Isolates of Staphylococcus aureus

“…In agreement with some studies results, more than 90% of the isolates were susceptible to vancomycin [1,3,[15][16][17] . Out of the 73 isolates, 32 (43.8%) were MRSA, this finding is in line with the results of the studies by Dibah et al (2014) 57 (78) [16] and Mir et al (2019) [14] in Ardabil and Zabol, respectively; however, dissimilar prevalence rates have been reported by other researchers in Iran and other countries [1,3,5,7,9,13,17,[18][19].…”

Staphylococcus aureus Among Athletes In Zakho City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq: Nasal Carriage Rate, Risk Factors, and Antibiotic Sensitivity Profile

“…Numerous studies in our area have found high rates of S. aureus among general population (Rasheed and Hussein, 2020e), healthcare worker (Hussein et al, 2019) and students (Rasheed and Hussein, 2020c). In the present study, however, we assessed the prevalence rate of S. aureus and risk factors among athletes in Zakho city, Iraq.…”

“…Moreover, usage of equipment that causes skin abrasion, and poor sanitation are also risk factors for S. aureus infection in sports (Grosset-Janin et al, 2012). Several antibiotics have been developed resistance to S. aureus in our region (Rasheed and Hussein, 2020a, Naqid et al, 2020b, Naqid et al, 2020a and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have also reported among hospitalized patients (Abdulkareem et al, 2020, Hussein et al, 2017, and the community (Hussein et al, 2019, Rasheed andHussein, 2020d). The prevalence of community-associated MRSA among athletes is higher particularly those people participate in direct contact sports (Rice et al, 2008), even three times greater when compared to the general community (Graham et al, 2006).…”

Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq

“…PVL toxin is responsible for severe infections caused by community acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) [15]. PVL is encoded by lukS-PV and lukF-PV genes and acts as a toxin by creating pores in leukocytes' cell membrane, leading to cell death [5,16]. We found that the prevalence of PVL-positive MRSA was (3.95%) among native Iraq, and was higher than that in Syrian refugees (2.04%).…”