title: Typing of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Using DNA Fingerprints by Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for a wide spectrum of nosocomial and community associated infections worldwide. The aim of this study was to analyze MRSA strains from the general population in Canton Sarajevo, B&H.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our investigation including either phenotypic and genotypic markers such as antimicrobial resistance, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), SCC typing, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) detection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Antimicrobial susceptibility: all MRSA isolates were resistant to the β-lactam antibiotics tested, and all isolates were susceptible trimethoprim sulphamethoxazole, rifampicin, fusidic acid, linezolid and vancomycin. Sixty-eight per cent of the MRSA isolates were resistant to erythromycin, 5% to clindamycin, 5% to gentamicin and 4% to ciprofloxacin. After the PFGE analysis, the isolates were grouped into five similarity groups: A-E. The largest number of isolates belonged to one of two groups: C: 60 (60%) and D: 27 (27%). In both groups C and D, SCCmectype IV was predominant (60% and 88, 8%, respectively). A total of 24% of the isolates had positive expression of PVL genes, while 76% showed a statistically significantly greater negative expression of PVL genes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SCCmec type IV, together with the susceptibility profile and PFGE grouping, is considered to be typical of CA-MRSA.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Velma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rebic
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Molecular Microbiology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Budimir
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Mufida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aljicevic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Sabaheta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bektas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Sabina Mahmutovic
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Vranic
authors.affiliation: Clinical Center University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosna i Hercegovina.
authors.forename: Damir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rebic
keywords: CA-MRSA; antimicrobial susceptibility; infection; markers