Diversity of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec structures in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains among outpatients from four countries.
In staphylococci, methicillin (meticillin) resistance (MR) is mediated by the acquisition of the mecA gene, which is carried on the size and composition variable staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec). MR has been extensively studied in Staphylococcus aureus, but little is known about MR coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS). Here, we describe the diversity of SCCmec structures in MR-CoNS from outpatients living in countries with contrasting environments: Algeria, Mali, Moldova, and Cambodia. Their MR-CoNS nasal carriage rates were 29, 17, 11, and 31%, respectively. Ninety-six MR-CoNS strains, comprising 75 (78%) Staphylococcus epidermidis strains, 19 (20%) Staphylococcus haemolyticus strains, 1 (1%) Staphylococcus hominis strain, and 1 (1%) Staphylococcus cohnii strain, were analyzed. Eighteen different SCCmec types were observed, with 28 identified as type IV (29%), 25 as type V (26%), and 1 as type III (1%). Fifteen strains (44%) were untypeable for their SCCmec. Thirty-four percent of MR-CoNS strains contained multiple ccr copies. Type IV and V SCCmec were preferentially associated with S. epidermidis and S. haemolyticus, respectively. MR-CoNS constitute a widespread and highly diversified MR reservoir in the community.
Ruppé
Etienne
E
Laboratoire Associé CNR Résistance Dans les Flores Commensales, Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard, Paris, France.
Barbier
François
F
Mesli
Yasmine
Y
Maiga
Aminata
A
Cojocaru
Radu
R
Benkhalfat
Mokhtar
M
Benchouk
Samia
S
Hassaine
Hafida
H
Maiga
Ibrahim
I
Diallo
Amadou
A
Koumaré
Abdel Karim
AK
Ouattara
Kalilou
K
Soumaré
Sambou
S
Dufourcq
Jean-Baptiste
JB
Nareth
Chhor
C
Sarthou
Jean-Louis
JL
Andremont
Antoine
A
Ruimy
Raymond
R
D000462:Algeria; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002353:Carrier State; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D017931:DNA Primers; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D008966:Moldova; D010045:Outpatients; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D041162:Staphylococcus haemolyticus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D017931:DNA Primers; C487495:MecA protein, Staphylococcus epidermidis