title: Microbiological and molecular characterization of human clinical isolates of Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus hominis, and Staphylococcus sciuri.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The incidence of coagulase-negative staphylococci reported as causative agents of nosocomial infections has risen in the last decade. The aim of this study was to characterize biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, SCCmec type, and genetic relatedness in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus hominis, and Staphylococcus sciuri recovered from humans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinically relevant isolates of S. cohnii (n = 15), S. hominis (n = 9), and S. sciuri (n = 6), were collected from patients. Biofilm formation was evaluated using crystal violet staining, drug susceptibility was assessed using the broth microdilution method, and methicillin resistance was measured using the cefoxitin disk test. SCCmec was typed using 2 different methodologies, and genetic relatedness was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty percent (9/15) of S. cohnii, 33% (3/9) of S. hominis, and 50% (3/6) of S. sciuri isolates were categorized as weak producers of biofilm. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin or linezolid. All 3 species showed a high resistance (> 66%) to ampicillin, levofloxacin, erythromycin, and ceftriaxone, and the majority of the isolates were methicillin-resistant. PFGE revealed that the S. cohnii isolates comprised 1 dominant clone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The S. cohnii, S. hominis, and S. sciuri isolates analyzed in this study showed a high methicillin resistance and resistance to other antimicrobials. The results of this study strongly suggest that coagulase-negative staphylococci harbour new SCCmec elements. We report the first case of a clone of S. cohnii associated with human disease.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. elvira_garza_gzz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garza-González
authors.forename: Rayo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morfin-Otero
authors.forename: Manuel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez-Vázquez
authors.forename: Esteban
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Diaz
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: González-Santiago
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Noriega
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D058889:Molecular Typing; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents