title: Staphylococcus cohnii--resident of hospital environment: cell-surface features and resistance to antibiotics.
abstract: Staphylococcus cohnii strains dominated in the environment of investigated hospitals. We isolated 420 strains of the species mainly from hospitals environments, but also from infants--Intensive Care Units patients, its medical staff and non-hospital environments. S. cohnii subspecies cohnii was seen to dominate (361 strains). Seventy seven percent of these strains expressed cell-surface hydrofobicity, most of them were slime producers (61%) and this feature was correlated with their methicillin resistance. Among S. cohnii ssp. cohnii strains isolated from ICU environment 90% were resistant to methicillin, 43% expressed high-level resistance to mupirocin and high percentages were resistant to many other antibiotics. These strains may constitute a dangerous reservoir of resistance genes in a hospital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Medical University of Lódź, Poland. eligia@krysia.uni.lodz.pl
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Szewczyk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rózalska
mesh_terms: D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009675:Novobiocin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D009675:Novobiocin