SAGE Journals; Microbiology Insights "Characteristics of ..................................Kathmandu, Nepal)

 Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated From Clinical Specimens in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal

Shesh Narayan Kandel¹†, Nabaraj Adhikari²†, Binod Dhungel², Upendra Thapa Shrestha², Khadga Bikram Angbuhang¹, Gayatri Karki³, Bipin Adhikari⁴, Megha Raj Banjara², Komal Raj Rijal², Prakash Ghimire²

¹Kantipur College of Medical Sciences, Tribhuvan University, Sitapaila, Kathmandu, Nepal

²Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

³Himal Hospital, Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal

⁴Nepal Community Health and Development Centre, Balaju, Kathmandu, Nepal

 

Citation: Kandel et al. Microbiology Insights, 2020, 13: 1–6. DOI: 10.1177/1178636120972695

Article first published online: November 11, 2020; Issue published: January 1, 2020
Received: April 27, 2020; Accepted: October 16, 2020

 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

 

 

Abstract

Introduction:

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major human pathogen associated with nosocomial and community infections. mecA gene is considered one of the important virulence factors of S. aureus responsible for acquiring resistance against methicillin. The main objective of this study was to explore the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility pattern, and mec A gene.

Methods:

A total of 39 isolates of S. aureus were isolated from 954 clinical specimens processed in Microbiology laboratory of Himal Hospital, Kathmandu. Antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was performed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method using cefoxitin, and performed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for amplification of mecA gene in MRSA isolates.

Results:

Out of 954 clinical samples, (16.2%; 153/954) samples had bacterial growth. Among 153 culture positive isolates, 25.5% (39/153) were positive for S. aureus. Among 39 S. aureus (61.5%; 24/39) were multiple drug resistant (MDR). On AST, amoxicillin was detected as the least effective while vancomycin was the most effective. The prevalence of methicillin resistance was 46% (18/39) of which 72.2% (13/18) were positive for mecA gene in PCR assay.

Conclusion:

One in 4 culture positive isolates from the clinical specimens were S. aureus, of which almost two-thirds were MDR. Around half of the MDR showed MRSA and significant proportion of them were positive for mecA gene. This study concludes that the mecA gene is solely dependent for methicillin resistance in S. aureus but the presence of gene is not obligatory. PCR detection of the mecA gene is reliable, valid and can be suggested for the routine use in diagnostic laboratories.

Keywords Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, cefoxitin, mecA gene

 

PUBMED: Download

SAGE HomePage: Download PDF