Comparative analysis of multidrug-resistant, non-multidrug-resistant, and archaic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Central Sydney, Australia

Identification and Discrimination of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Burn Wound Sites Using PCR and Authentication with MALDI-TOF-MS

The present study demonstrates isolation and identification of methicillin resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in the samples collected from burn patients. About 106 swab samples were collected from burn patients of >40% burn injury and were subjected to isolation using nutrient agar followed by screening using Me Re Sa selective medium agar. A total of 10 isolates with identity to S. aureus were obtained and further authenticated using Polymerase Chain Reaction and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis. Presence of mec A gene and the peak pattern observations suggested seven of the 10 isolates are MRSA. Thus, the present study emphasizes the process of identification of MRSA using two different bio-analytical techniques, which authenticate the presence of MRSA.

Molecular diagnostics of clinically important staphylococci

Bacterial species of the genus Staphylococcus known as important human and animal pathogens are the cause of a number of severe infectious diseases. Apart from the major pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, other species until recently considered to be nonpathogenic may also be involved in serious infections. Rapid and accurate identification of the disease-causing agent is therefore prerequisite for disease control and epidemiological surveillance. Modern methods for identification and typing of bacterial species are based on genome analysis and have many advantages compared to phenotypic methods. The genotypic methods currently used in molecular diagnostics of staphylococcal species, particularly of S. aureus, are reviewed. Attention is also paid to new molecular methods with the highest discriminatory power. Efforts made to achieve interlaboratory reproducibility of diagnostic methods are presented.

Transmission and epidemiology of MRSA: current perspectives

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive bacterium that developed resistance to the penicillin derivative methicillin. Subsequently, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) emerged as a bacterium that became less susceptible to the actions of methicillin and thus developed the ability to colonize and cause life-threatening infections. Globally, MRSA continues to cause hospital-acquired infections which are becoming difficult to treat owing to increasing glycopeptide resistance and the increasing development of community-associated MRSA. Nurses caring for patients in both hospital and community settings should be able to acknowledge the importance of MRSA, the difficulties of treating the bacterium and the need to comprehend and adhere to universal precautions that are important in the prevention of transmission of MRSA.