title: Assessment of three rapid methods for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: We evaluated three rapid methods to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and compared them with PCR amplification of mecA. A total of 103 S. aureus strains were studied by MRSA-Screen, BBL Crystal, Velogene Genomic and mecA PCR. All the methods detected the 61 MRSA strains having the mecA gene, showing 100% sensitivity and specificity. Despite the correlation between all the rapid methods and PCR, the ease of use and shorter turnaround time of MRSA-Screen were important factors leading to the selection of this method as the routine screening technique for MRSA.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Service, Hospital Geral de Santo António, Porto, Portugal. jcabeda@mail.telepac.pt
authors.forename: Maria João
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: Ana Constança
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Maria Luís
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cabeda
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Amorim
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus