Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 May;4(Suppl 1):S293-7.
doi: 10.12980/APJTB.4.2014C423.

PCR-based identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains and their antibiotic resistance profiles

Abazar Pournajaf  1 , Abdollah Ardebili  2 , Leyla Goudarzi  3 , Mahmoud Khodabandeh  4 , Tahmineh Narimani  5 , Hassan Abbaszadeh  6
Affiliations

PCR-based identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains and their antibiotic resistance profiles

Abazar Pournajaf et al. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2014 May.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluated the PCR for mecA gene compared with the conventional oxacillin disk diffusion method for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) identification.

Methods: A total of 292 S. aureus strains were isolated from various clinical specimens obtained from hospitalized patients. Susceptibility test to several antimicrobial agents was performed by disk diffusion agar according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. The PCR amplification of the mecA gene was carried out in all the clinical isolates.

Results: Among antibiotics used in our study, penicillin showed the least anti-staphylococcal activity and vancomycin was the most effective. The rate of methicillin-resistant S. aureus prevalence determined by oxacillin disk diffusion method was 47.6%; whereas, 45.1% of S. aureus isolates were mecA- positive in the PCR assay.

Conclusions: This study is suggestive that the PCR for detection of mecA gene is a fast, accurate and valuable diagnostic tool, particularly in hospitals in areas where methicillin-resistant S. aureus is endemic.

Keywords: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Oxacillin disk diffusion; PCR; mecA gene.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. PCR amplification of mecA gene in five selected isolates of S. aureus.
Lane C−: mecA negative S. aureus; Lane 1-5: PCR product of mecA gene (533 bp); M: 100 bp DNA size marker.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Stefani S, Goglio A. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: related infections and antibiotic resistance. Int J Infect Dis. 2010;14(Suppl 4):s19–s22. - PubMed
    1. Song JH, Hsueh PR, Chung DR, Ko KS, Kang CI, Peck KR, et al. Spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus between the community and the hospitals in Asian countries: an ANSORP study. J Antimicrob Chemother. 2011;66:1061–1069. - PubMed
    1. Yok-Ai Q, Philippe M. Staphylococcus aureus (including staphylococcal toxic shock) In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, editors. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious diseases. Philadelphia, USA: Elsevier; 2010. p. 195.
    1. NNIS System CDC National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system report, data summary from January 1992-April 2001, issued August 2001. Am J Infect Control. 2011;29:404–421. - PubMed
    1. Stenhem M, Ortqvist A, Ringberg H, Larsson L, Olsson Liljequist B, Haeggman S, et al. Imported methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Sweden. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010;16(2):189–196. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources