title: Population structure of Staphylococcus aureus from remote African Babongo Pygmies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pandemic community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates (CA-MRSA) predominantly encode the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), which can be associated with severe infections. Reports from non-indigenous Sub-Saharan African populations revealed a high prevalence of PVL-positive isolates. The objective of our study was to investigate the S. aureus carriage among a remote indigenous African population and to determine the molecular characteristics of the isolates, particularly those that were PVL-positive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nasal S. aureus carriage and risk factors of colonization were systematically assessed in remote Gabonese Babongo Pygmies. Susceptibility to antibiotics, possession of toxin-encoding genes (i.e., PVL, enterotoxins, and exfoliative toxins), S. aureus protein A (spa) types and multi-locus sequence types (MLST) were determined for each isolate. The carriage rate was 33%. No MRSA was detected, 61.8% of the isolates were susceptible to penicillin. Genes encoding PVL (55.9%), enterotoxin B (20.6%), exfoliative toxin D (11.7%) and the epidermal cell differentiation inhibitor B (11.7%) were highly prevalent. Thirteen spa types were detected and were associated with 10 STs predominated by ST15, ST30, ST72, ST80, and ST88.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of PVL-positive isolates among Babongo Pygmies demands our attention as PVL can be associated with necrotinzing infection and may increase the risk of severe infections in remote Pygmy populations. Many S. aureus isolates from Babongo Pygmies and pandemic CA-MRSA-clones have a common genetic background. Surveillance is needed to control the development of resistance to antibiotic drugs and to assess the impact of the high prevalence of PVL in indigenous populations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany. frieder.schaumburg@ukmuenster.de
authors.forename: Frieder
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schaumburg
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Köck
authors.forename: Alexander W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Friedrich
authors.forename: Solange
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Soulanoudjingar
authors.forename: Ulysse Ateba
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Ngoa
authors.forename: Christof
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Eiff
authors.forename: Saadou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Issifou
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kremsner
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Becker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D044382:Population Groups; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D037521:Virulence Factors