STUDY ON CLINICAL ISOLATES OF VIRULENT METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS CARRYING PANTON-VALENTINE LEUKOCIDIN GENES

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) carrying Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) has become a serious global problem. Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive Staphylococcus aureus can result in several infections. Although it is associated with community acquired methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), several outbreaks due to methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) were reported. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of PVL-positive gene in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) among isolates from Egyptian hospitals. Various clinical samples were collected from two Egyptian hospitals, one in Cairo and the other in Zagazig Governorates. The samples were collected from January 2010 to December 2010 and subjected to culture then bacterial identification. S. aureus was identified by conventional methods then MRSA and MSSA isolates were identified using sensitivity test for both oxacillin and cefoxitin. The results were compared with Chrom ID MRSA (Chromogenic media for detection of MRSA). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the PVL gene among 42 MRSA and 25 MSSA isolates. Among PCR tested isolates, 11.9% of S. aureus isolates harbored the PVL gene (8/67). Five MRSA isolates were harboring the gene representing also 11.9% (5/42). Three among 25 MSSA isolates were PVL positive (12%). Accordingly, no significant difference was observed between MRSA and MSSA regarding the presence of the PVL gene.