Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage by young Malaysian footballers during indoor training

High Occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Fitness Equipment from Selected Gymnasiums

Introduction

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of cutaneous bacterial infection involving community.

Methods

In this study, a total of 42 swab samples were collected from the surface of various fitness equipment such as back machines, exercise mats, dip stations, dumbbells, and treadmills. Identification of the bacterial isolates was conducted using biochemical tests and further analysed molecularly using the PCR method targeting nuc gene (270 bp). The nuc gene encodes for the thermonuclease enzyme, a virulent factor of S. aureus.

Results

The findings showed 31 out of 42 swab samples (73.81%) were positive with S. aureus.

Conclusion

This study showed that gymnasium equipment is a potential reservoir for S. aureus and might play an important role in transmitting the pathogen to humans.

Objective

This study was undertaken to assess the presence of S. aureus on the surface of fitness equipment from selected gymnasiums in Kuching and Kota Samarahan, Sarawak (Malaysia).

Virulence Factors in Staphylococci Isolated From Nasal Cavities of Footballers

AIM

This study aimed to investigate the rate of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin producing Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin (mecA) and slime (icaA/icaD) genes in staphylococcal strains isolated from nasal cavities of footballers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Nasal swab samples were taken from each footballers and a healthy control group for the isolation of staphylococcal strains. The polymerase chain reaction technique was used to determine Panton-Valentine Leukocidin, mecA and icaA/icaD genes in staphylococcal isolates.

RESULTS

Among 91 S. aureus strains, the presence of mecA gene was detected as 9.9%. This ratio was 17.9% (27 of 151) among the coagulase-negative staphylococci. A significant difference was found between coagulase-negative staphylococci and S. aureus isolates regarding the presence of mecA gene (P < 0.001). As for the genes of the slime, icaA/icaD genes were detected in 198 of 242 (81.8%) strains. The occurrence of slime genes was 91.2% and 89.4% among the S. aureus coagulase and negative staphylococci, respectively (P > 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the frequency of the mecA and slime genes when compared with the healthy control group and the football players (P < 0.01). Of 91 isolates, 22 were found to be methicillin resistant by the oxacillin disc diffusion method, whereas the remaining (220) were methicillin susceptible. Methicillin resistance was detected as 14.9% by the polymerase chain reaction method, whereas it was found as 9.1% by phenotypic methods.

CONCLUSIONS

Early and accurate diagnosis of virulent staphylococcal strains is crucial because the virulent coagulase-negative and coagulase-positive staphylococcal strains in the nasal floras of footballers may be major potential sources of superficial and deep tissue infections.

Skin Infections in Young People (Aged 14–18 Years)

Skin infections are a major cause of preventable hospitalization, with young people being particularly susceptible. Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infection typically presents as skin infection. CA-MRSA infection rates have increased rapidly in the past decade. Exploration of literature specific to young people aged 14–18 years is therefore timely. Integrative review using the methods described by Whittemore and Knafl was undertaken. Electronic databases of Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Google databases were searched for English-language articles published after 1990. Twenty primary studies were included and the findings are reported here. Data analysis revealed factors influencing skin infections in young people may be host-, transmission-, or pathogen-specific. Strategies to address host and transmission factors may be effective in controlling skin infection rates in young people.

Production of 2-aminophenoxazin-3-one by Staphylococcus aureus causes false-positive results in β-galactosidase assays

Staphylococcus aureus can be distinguished from similar coagulase-positive staphylococci by its absence of β-galactosidase activity. This is commonly tested using o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (ONPG) as the substrate. Unexpectedly, 111 and 58 of 123 isolates displayed apparent β-galactosidase activity in the ONPG assay and on the Vitek 2 system, respectively. Compositional analysis showed that the yellow coloration of the positive ONPG assay resulted from production of 2-aminophenoxazin-3-one. Alternative β-galactosidase substrates like X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside) should be used for testing staphylococci.

Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: frequency and molecular diversity in a randomly sampled Norwegian community population

A randomly selected, healthy Norwegian community population was studied for nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) to describe frequency and molecular diversity in a non-hospital cohort (n = 95). Multilocus sequence typing revealed 31 sequence types (STs) belonging to 15 clonal complexes (CCs). The majority of isolates (71%) were classified as CC 15, 30 or 45. This clustering was confirmed by spa typing. There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of CCs between this community population and a previously studied group of orthopaedic health care workers from a hospital in the same community. The study may indicate that microbial and host factors may be stronger determinants for S. aureus colonization than exposures associated with the hospital environment.