High prevalence of qacA/B carriage among clinical isolates of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Malaysia.
The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 60 meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from Malaysia to three antiseptic agents - benzalkonium chloride (BZT), benzethonium chloride (BAC) and chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) - were determined. All isolates had MICs ranging from 0.5 to 2 mg/L. Antiseptic resistance genes qacA/B and smr were detected in 83.3% and 1.6% of the isolates, respectively. Carriage of qacA/B correlated with reduced susceptibility to CHG and BAC. This is the first report of the prevalence of qacA/B and smr gene carriage in Malaysian MRSA isolates, with a high frequency of qacA/B carriage. The presence of these antiseptic resistance genes and associated reduced susceptibility to antiseptic agents may have clinical implications.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.
M N
MN
Shamsudin
M A
MA
Alreshidi
R A
RA
Hamat
A S
AS
Alshrari
S S
SS
Atshan
V
V
Neela
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017920:Antiporters / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D001558:Benzethonium / Q000494:pharmacology; D002710:Chlorhexidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
D000891:Anti-Infective Agents, Local; D017920:Antiporters; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; C099272:QacB protein, Staphylococcus aureus; C521590:small multidrug-resistance pump, Staphylococcus aureus; C068498:qacA protein, Staphylococcus aureus; D001558:Benzethonium; C010882:chlorhexidine gluconate; D002710:Chlorhexidine