Genetic Characterization of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>, <i>Staphylococcus argenteus</i>, and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Colonizing Oral Cavity and Hand of Healthy Adults in Northern Japan
Mina Hirose,
Meiji Soe Aung,
Yusuke Fujita,
Taisei Kato,
Yukito Hirose,
Shoko Yahata,
Atsushi Fukuda,
Masato Saitoh,
Noriko Urushibara,
Nobumichi Kobayashi
Affiliations
Mina Hirose
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Meiji Soe Aung
Department of Hygiene, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan
Yusuke Fujita
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Taisei Kato
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Yukito Hirose
Division of Fixed Prosthodontics and Oral Implantology, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Shoko Yahata
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Atsushi Fukuda
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Masato Saitoh
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Oral Growth and Development, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Ishikari-Tobetsu 061-0293, Japan
Noriko Urushibara
Department of Hygiene, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan
Nobumichi Kobayashi
Department of Hygiene, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8556, Japan
The spread of methicillin resistance and virulence among staphylococci in the community poses a public health concern. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of Staphylococcus species colonizing the oral cavity and hand (skin) of healthy university students and their phenotypic and genetic characteristics in northern Japan. Among a total of 332 subjects, 6 and 110 methicillin-resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA, respectively) isolates were recovered from 105 subjects. MRSA isolates were genotyped as CC5, CC8, CC45, and CC59 with SCCmec-IIa or IV, among which an isolate of ST6562 (single-locus variant of ST8) harbored SCCmec-IVa, PVL genes and ACME-I, which are the same traits as the USA300 clone. ST1223 S. argenteus was isolated from the oral cavity and hand of a single student. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) was recovered from 154 subjects (172 isolates), and classified into 17 species, with S. capitis being the most common (38%), followed by S. warneri (24%) and S. epidermidis (15%), including nine mecA-positive isolates. S. capitis was differentiated into seven clusters/subclusters, and genetic factors associated with the NRCS-A clone (nsr, tarJ, ebh) were detected in 10–21% of isolates. The colonization of the USA300-like MRSA variant and S. capitis with the traits of the NRCS-A clone in healthy individuals was noteworthy.
