Molecular typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by PCR-RFLP and its usefulness in an epidemiological study of an outbreak.
A new convenient molecular typing method, simultaneous polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, for three different genes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was evaluated using 35 isolates of MRSA and comparing results with those previously reported for sequencing-based spa typing. Twenty-nine isolates of the most frequent protein A (spa) type were discriminated into 6 different types by PCR-RFLP. In contrast, spa typing could discriminate only 1 of the 19 most frequent PCR-RFLP-type isolates. The discriminatory powers of the two methods were equal for the other isolates. These results suggest that PCR-RFLP has the advantages of both relative easiness and greater discriminatory power than spa typing. We also report the case of a suspected outbreak in which PCR-RFLP was sufficient for ruling out the possibility of an outbreak. Thus, PCR-RFLP is preferable as a preliminary screening method for epidemiological studies of nosocomial infection caused by MRSA.
Mitani
Noriaki
N
Central Clinical Laboratory, Nara Medical University, Nara 634-8522, Japan.
Koizumi
Akira
A
Sano
Reiko
R
Masutani
Takayuki
T
Murakawa
Koichi
K
Mikasa
Keiichi
K
Okamoto
Yasuyuki
Y
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods; D003030:Coagulase / Q000235:genetics; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000235:genetics; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D003030:Coagulase; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A; C025651:CCCGGG-specific type II deoxyribonucleases; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific; D008712:Methicillin