Carriage frequency, phenotypic, and genotypic characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from dental health-care personnel, patients, and environment

Abstract

There is limited data on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage in dental clinics.1300 specimens from patients, health personnel, and environmental surfaces of a dental clinic in Egypt were tested for MRSA.Antibiotic susceptibility, biofilm formation, Staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing, SCCmec typing, and PCR-based assays were used to detect mecA, mecC, vanA, Panton-Valentine Leukocidin toxin (PVL), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (tst) genes.Among 34 mecA-positive MRSA isolates, five (14.7%) were PVL-positive, seventeen (50%) were tst-positive, ten (29.4%) were vanA-positive, while none harboured mecC.MRSA hand carriage rates in patients, nurses, and dentists were 9.8%, 6.6%, and 5%.The respective nasal colonization rates were 11.1%, 6.7%, and 9.7%.1.3% of the environmental isolates were MRSA-positive.Strong and moderate biofilm-forming isolates represented 23.5% and 29.4% of MRSA isolates.24 MRSA isolates (70.6%) were multi-resistant and 18 (52.9%) harboured SCCmec IV.Among eight spa types, t223 (26.5%), t267 (23.5%), and t14339 (23.5%) were predominant.We noted an alarming genetic relatedness between 7 (20.6%) MRSA isolates and the epidemic EMRSA-15 clone, as well as a combined occurrence of tst and PVL in 3 (8.8%) isolates.Results suggest high MRSA pathogenicity in dental wards highlighting the need for more efficient surveillance/infection control strategies. � 2017 The Author(s).