Nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive strains of Staphylococcus sciuri in the Indonesian population

Abstract

Staphylococcus sciuri strains were unexpectedly cultured from healthy persons and patients from Indonesia during a population-based survey on nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage. Fifty-one S. sciuri isolates were further characterized. The S. aureus mecA gene was detected by PCR in 22 isolates (43.1%), whereas S. sciuri mecA was found in 33 isolates (64.7%). The staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) regions of S. aureus mecA-positive isolates contained elements of classical S. aureus SCCmec types II and/or III.

FIG. 1.

Dendrogram based on PFGE SmaI restriction pattern analysis of 51 nares-colonizing S. sciuri isolates. Similarity analysis was performed with Dice's coefficient, and clustering was done by using the unweighted-pair group method using average linkages (UPGMA) method. The scale at the top shows percentages of similarity. Further information is shown on the right, including the presence (pos) or absence (neg) of the S. aureus mecA gene (Sau), positive (pos) or negative (neg) Slidex Staph Plus agglutination test (Slidex) results, presence (pos) or absence (neg) of the S. sciuri mecA gene (Ssc), and results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing (16S). The rectangle highlights a clustering of S. aureus mecA-positive S. sciuri strains.