Epidemiologic genotyping of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis at a university hospital and comparison with antibiotyping and protein A and coagulase gene polymorphisms.
A total of 124 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates were ascertained at the University Hospital of the Canary Islands between January 1997 and April 2000. Genotyping included pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) (SmaI digestion) and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis for the coagulase (coa) and protein A (spa) genes. Antibiotic resistance was the main phenotypic marker correlated with genotyping results. Three main PFGE types were detected: A (with 12 subtypes), B (with 2 subtypes), and C. PFGE type A1 was the most commonly found (61% of isolates) and the one responsible for all the epidemic outbreaks. Other genetics markers used (coa and spa RFLPs) were significantly correlated with the PFGE types detected (P < 0.001). These PCR-RFLP assays were useful as molecular markers for a quick, preliminary study of MRSA outbreaks.
Montesinos
I
I
Microbiology Laboratory, Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. carlotamontesin@terra.es
Salido
E
E
Delgado
T
T
Cuervo
M
M
Sierra
A
A
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D003030:Coagulase / Q000235:genetics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005838:Genotype; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000235:genetics; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003030:Coagulase; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A