Pathogens (Feb 2021)

Whole Genome Sequencing and Antimicrobial Resistance of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> from Surgical Site Infections in Ghana

  • Beverly Egyir,
  • Jeannette Bentum,
  • Naiki Attram,
  • Anne Fox,
  • Noah Obeng-Nkrumah,
  • Labi Appiah-Korang,
  • Eric Behene,
  • Selassie Kumordjie,
  • Clara Yeboah,
  • Bright Agbodzi,
  • Ronald Essah Bentil,
  • Rhodalyn Tagoe,
  • Blessing Kofi Adu Tabi,
  • Felicia Owusu,
  • Nicholas T. K. D. Dayie,
  • Eric S. Donkor,
  • Josephine Nsaful,
  • Kwaku Asah-Opoku,
  • Edward Nyarko,
  • Edward Asumanu,
  • Anders Rhod Larsen,
  • David M. Wolfe,
  • Andrew G. Letizia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10020196
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 2
p. 196

Abstract

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Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a common cause of surgical site infections (SSIs) globally. Data on the occurrence of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) as well as methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) among patients with surgical site infections (SSIs) in sub-Saharan African are scarce. We characterized S. aureus from SSIs in Ghana using molecular methods and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST). Wound swabs or aspirate samples were collected from subjects with SSIs. S. aureus was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS); AST was performed by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion, and results were interpreted according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. Detection of spa, mecA, and pvl genes was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was done using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Samples were collected from 112 subjects, with 13 S. aureus isolates recovered. Of these, 92% were sensitive to co-trimoxazole, 77% to clindamycin, and 54% to erythromycin. Multi-drug resistance was detected in 5 (38%) isolates. The four mecA gene-positive MRSA isolates detected belonged to ST152 (n = 3) and ST5 (n = 1). In total, 62% of the isolates were positive for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (pvl) toxin gene. This study reports, for the first time, a pvl-positive ST152-t355 MRSA clone from SSIs in Ghana. The occurrence of multi-drug-resistant S. aureus epidemic clones suggests that continuous surveillance is required to monitor the spread and resistance trends of S. aureus in hospital settings in the country.

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