Antibiotic resistance and mecA characterization of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from three hotels in London, UK

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from non-healthcare environments, is a potential problem to public health. In our survey a total of 71 coagulase negative staphylococci (CNS) belonging to 11 different species were isolated from three large hotels in London, UK. The most prevalent species was Staphylococcus haemolyticus, with S. hominis, S. warneri, S. cohnii, and Staphylococcus epidermidis commonly detected. Antimicrobial susceptibilities and carriage of the mecA gene were determined for all of these isolates. Most (85.9%) staphylococci were resistant to multiple antibiotics with all displaying increased susceptibility toward penicillin, fusidic acid, erythromycin, and cefepime. Twenty-one (29.5%) of the isolates were mecA positive, however MIC values to oxacillin, normally associated with the carriage of mecA, varied widely in this group (from 0.06 to 256 mg/L). Fifteen of the twenty-one mecA positive isolates carried SCCmec of these seven were type V, one type I, one type II, and one type IV. Additionally, five of these 15 isolates carried a previously unreported type, 1A, which involves an association between class A mec complex and ccr type 1. The remaining six of the 21 isolates were non-typeable and carried a combination of class A mec complex and ccrC. In addition to this, we also report on new MLST types which were assigned for five S. epidermidis isolates. Four out of these five isolates had MICs between 0.06 and 256 mg/L to oxacillin and would be regarded as clinically susceptible but one isolate had a high oxacillin MIC of 256 mg/L. We demonstrated widespread multiple drug resistance among different staphylococcal species isolated from non-healthcare environments highlighting the potential for these species to act as a reservoir for methicillin and other forms of drug resistance.

Investigation of Glycopeptide Susceptibility of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CoNS) From a Tertiary Care Hospital in Gorgan, Northern Iran

“…This result, in line with many previous studies, confirms the predominance of these two species in various clinical samples compared to other CoNS species (28)(29)(30)(31). In addition, S. haemolyticus and S. epidermidis have been reported to be among the most frequent CoNS species acquiring resistance to multiple antibiotics, which is in agreement with the results of the current study (3,8). Indeed, we found S. haemolyticus and S. epidermidis among the strains with higher rates of MDR compared to the other CoNS.…”

Identification of hemolysin encoding genes and their association with antimicrobial resistance pattern among clinical isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococci

“…Among various CoNS species, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus have been confirmed to be responsible agents for the vast majority of nosocomial infections [4]. Treatment of CoNS infections has become more complicated, as many isolates in hospitals show high rates of resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents of clinical relevance [5]. CoNS is also a reservoir for resistance genes that can be transmitted to other pathogens [6].…”

Presence of the optrA Gene in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus sciuri of Porcine Origin

“…MRCoNS have also been detected in recent years as pathogens in animals (3,4) as well as in food of animal origin (5) and in non-health care environments (6). Linezolid is one of the few clinically effective drugs for the control of MRSA and MRCoNS infections.…”