MRSA screening and spa gene detection in isolates from healthcare workers at ophthalmology hospital in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract Background Staphylococcus aureus has a major role in different types of eye infections as conjunctivitis, keratitis, and endophthalmitis. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was almost restricted to hospitals, but its prevalence has been increased in people outside hospitals. The cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus has protein A which can bind to the Fc portion of IgG. This ptnA is encoded by surface protein A of Staphylococcus aureus (spa) gene that contains a highly polymorphic sequence which is composed of repeats of 24-bp. Sequence typing of the spa gene repeat region is used to study the epidemiology of MRSA. The purpose of this study was screening of MRSA strains among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Hospital of the Research Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), Giza, Egypt, and detecting spa gene in their DNAs by PCR. Results In the present study, 81 samples from healthcare providers in the hospital of the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Egypt, were screened for MRSA. Out of these 81 samples, 41 isolates (50.6%) were identified as coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Twelve staphylococcal isolates were resistant to both oxacillin and cefoxitin, and those were identified as MRSA with a percentage of 14.8% (12/81). Conventional PCR could detect spa gene in 10 out of 12 DNA MRSA with a percentage of 83.3% (10/12). Conclusion In the present study, the prevalence of MRSA in HCWs was 14.8%. Since amplification of spa gene by PCR is a necessary preliminary step for spa typing of MRSA and since using different primers for spa gene amplification might affect PCR results, then proper selection of the primers and thermal cycling reaction conditions are recommended for PCR performance and spa typing.

Keywords

• S. aureus
• MRSA
• Epidemiology
• HCWs
• spa typing
• spa primers PCR