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. 2025 Apr 5:9:100278.
doi: 10.1016/j.bioflm.2025.100278. eCollection 2025 Jun.

The burden of antimicrobial resistance in biofilm forming Staphylococcus spp. from Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis patients eyes

Nelaveni Rupa  1 , Pragnya Rao Donthineni  2 , Sayan Basu  1   2 , Kotakonda Arunasri  1
Affiliations

The burden of antimicrobial resistance in biofilm forming Staphylococcus spp. from Vernal Keratoconjunctivitis patients eyes

Nelaveni Rupa et al. Biofilm. .

Abstract

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic allergic ocular surface disease with seasonal recurrences and severe forms showing vision threatening complications. The purpose of the study is to understand the prevalence and diversity of biofilm-forming bacteria and antimicrobial resistance in VKC compared to healthy individuals (HC). For this, conjunctival swab samples were collected from VKC (n = 26) and HC (n = 23), of which culture positive samples were 77 % and 78.26 % respectively. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed a significant increase in bacterial diversity in VKC compared to HC (p < 0.05), identifying 16 and 9 bacterial species, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis emerged as the predominant bacterium in both groups, with relative abundances of 52.8 % in HC and 30.2 % in VKC (p < 0.001). Biofilm formation was observed in 64.15 % of bacterial species in VKC and 31 % in HC (p < 0.001). Scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed temporal biofilm formation by Staphylococcus spp. in both groups. Minimum inhibitory concentration testing showed that biofilm forming Staphylococcus spp. from VKC exhibited multidrug resistance (>2 antibiotics) more frequently than those from HC. Additionally, Staphylococcus spp. in VKC demonstrated higher resistance to fluoroquinolones compared to HC. These findings indicate a significantly greater prevalence of biofilm-forming and antimicrobial resistant Staphylococcus bacteria in VKC Patients compared with HC.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Conjunctival bacteria; Staphylococcus biofilms; Vernal keratoconjunctivitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

"I have nothing to declare".

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Bacterial diversity in allergic conjunctivitis and healthy control group. A. Relative abundance of bacterial Phyla in HC and VKC Group. B. Relative abundance of bacterial genera in HC and VKC Group. C. Relative abundance of Staphylococcus species. D. Percentage of biofilm forming bacteria in HC and VKC Group.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Temporal biofilm formation in Staphylococcus species visualized by Scanning electron microscopy. VKC= Isolate from vernal keratoconjunctivitis; HC= Isolate from healthy individual.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlation of biofilm potential and multiple antibacterial resistance in Staphylococcus species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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