Usefulness of REP and ERIC-PCR combination for tracking the spread of Staphylococcus aureus strains

摘要

Aim. Staphylococcus aureus is the cause of serious infections in humans, including endocarditis and deep-seated abscesses, which lead to toxic and septic shock syndromes. The objectives of this study were to observe whether Staphylococcus aureus strains obtained from various clinical samples collected from 21 different wards of a hospital represent identical organisms or closely related and to determine the strains belongs to the same genotype are correlated epide-miologically or not. Methods. In this study S. aureus strains, identified by conventional techniques, were tested for resistance to methicillin by disk diffusion method. Repetitive extra-genic palindromic (REP) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) sequences PCR fingerprinting were used to type the strains genotypically and generated patterns determined Dice coefficients of similarity. Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains were analyzed by the combination of REP and ERIC-PCR. Results. Forty-seven out of 67 (70%) S. aureus strains were found to be genetically related. These strains were separated into 15 types in REP and 11 types in ERIC-PCR analysis. 17 genotypes were identified by the combination of REP and ERIC-PCR. Data obtained from the analysis of this method may have an importance in clinical and epidemiological modeling. Conclusion. This study represents that combined REP and ERIC-PCR technique provides a rapid and reliable tool for investigating epidemiology in S. aureus and tracking the spread of these strains in the hospital environment.