title: A rapid, high-throughput screening method for carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: Rapid screening of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization prior to hospital admittance is important to reduce nosocomial infections and health care costs. Molecular detection of mecA and S. aureus specific target genes has become widely established for this purpose. However, there are still limitations in potential for high-throughput screening in the methods described. We have compared the time aspects and workload of four different DNA preparation platforms, resulting in an automated and simple MRSA screening method which combines two liquid handling systems and a simple lysis buffer. We have further transferred our in-house dual real-time PCR to a fast-PCR protocol, reducing the time and labour spent on these samples to a minimum.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Gene Technology, Division of Diagnostics and Technology, Akershus University Hospital, Sykehusvn 27, 1478 Nordbyhagen, Norway. hesm@ahus.no
authors.forename: Hege S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Tunsjø
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Follin-Arbelet
authors.forename: Nina M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Clausen
authors.forename: Yngve
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ness
authors.forename: Truls M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Leegaard
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bemanian
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D057205:Automation, Laboratory; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D057166:High-Throughput Screening Assays; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008836:Micrococcal Nuclease / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; C487789:mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus; C074002:nuc protein, staphylococcus; D008836:Micrococcal Nuclease
keywords: DNA preparation; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; high-throughput; real-time PCR; screening