title: Rapid detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in screening samples by relative quantification between the mecA gene and the SA442 gene.
abstract: Rapid detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is important to identify patients colonized with this pathogen and implement infection control precautions. We aimed to improve the combined use of the mecA gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the SA442 PCR to detect MRSA in clinical screening samples. In a true MRSA the mecA copy number will be equal to the SA442 copy number, whereas in samples with a methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) combined with a methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (MRCNS) the copy numbers will usually differ. Here we introduce a PCR system, relative quantification PCR (RQ-PCR), which takes this difference into account. RQ-PCR identifies true MRSA in clinical samples with a specificity that is comparable to the SCCmec-based PCRs.
authors.affiliation: Reinier de Graaf Group, Department of Medical Laboratories, Reinier de Graafweg 7, 2625 AD Delft, The Netherlands. l.bode@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: Lonneke G M
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bode
authors.forename: Perry
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Wunnik
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vaessen
authors.forename: Paul H M
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Savelkoul
authors.forename: Leo C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Smeets
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus