title: Characterization of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal province, Republic of South Africa.
abstract: Epidemiological data based on phenotypic and molecular characterization of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in sub-Saharan Africa are limited. This investigation studied 61 MRSA isolates obtained from 13 health-care institutions in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, South Africa, from March 2001 to August 2003. More than 80 % of the isolates were resistant to at least four classes of antibiotics and six isolates were resistant to the aminoglycoside, macrolide-lincosamide and tetracycline groups of antibiotics, heavy metals and nucleic acid-binding compounds. PFGE of SmaI-digested genomic DNA revealed seven types, designated A-G. Type A was the main pulsotype (62.3 %) and was identified in 11 of the 13 health-care institutions, suggesting that it represented a major clone in health-care institutions in KZN province. Analysis of representative members of the three major pulsotypes by spa, multilocus sequence typing and SCCmec typing revealed the types t064-ST1173-SCCmec IV and t064-ST1338-SCCmec IV (PFGE type A, single-locus and double-locus variants of ST8), t037-ST239-SCCmec III (PFGE type F) and t045-ST5-SCCmec III (PFGE type G). The combination of various typing methods provided useful information on the geographical dissemination of MRSA clones in health-care institutions in KZN province. The observation of major clones circulating in health-care facilities in KZN province indicates that adequate infection control measures are urgently needed.
authors.affiliation: School of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban, Republic of South Africa.|Department of Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Adebayo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shittu
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, 38855 Wernigerode, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Nübel
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait.
authors.forename: Edet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Udo
authors.affiliation: School of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Johnson
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Westville Campus), Private Bag X54001, Durban, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Sedio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaogakwe
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents