Molecular Characterisation of Staphyloccocus aureus isolated from Patients in Healthcare facilities in Zaria Metropolis, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Staphyloccocus aureus is an important global bacterial pathogen causing a wide spectrum of hospital and community-acquired infections. It has been a challenge for clinicians for more than half a century because of its multidrug resistance. This study assessed the molecular characteristics of Staphyloccocus aureus isolated from patients in health facilities in Zaria.
Methods: The 60 Staphyloccocus aureus isolates from clinical samples were evaluated at National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria, and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the United Kingdom by Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction and Multilocus Sequence Typing and phylogenetic analysis.
Results: The detected genes were mec A (15%), pvl (10%), and spa (13.3%).  Three isolates were positive for fem B (10%) and Multilocus Sequence Typing showed them to be Sequence Type1, which had similar allelic profiles at all seven loci and belonged to the clonal complex 1. The Staphyloccocus aureus genes were relatively uniform with no variable nucleotide sites at the seven loci. All the isolates (23448_1#126, 23448_1#127 and 23448_1#130) were multidrug-resistant. The phylogenetic relationship established based on a subset of core genes using the 16S rRNA sequence of the typed strains revealed 100% identity with the available Staphyloccocus aureus (BX571857, BA000033, AP015012, CP017115, and CP01780) genome in the database. The ST1 (CC1) clones are known to be community-acquired human biotypes.
Conclusion: mec A, pvl genes were detected from the isolated Staphyloccocus aureus. There is a need for rational use of antibiotics through an antimicrobial stewardship programme, periodic clinical auditing using molecular analysis, and effective hospital infection control measures.