Methicillin Resistance Profile and Molecular Typing of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Noses of the Healthy Dogs

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the profile of methicillin resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from noses of healthy dogs in Samsun and to investigate the coagulase (coa) and protein A (spa) gene polymorphisms of these isolates. A total of 80 isolates were identified as coagulase positive S. aureus phenotypically and genotypically. All of the isolates were found to be methicillin sensitive determined by agar disc diffusion method. However, in multiplex PCR performed to detect mecA and fem genes, 3 (3.75%) isolates were found to have mecA gene and none were fem positive. Amplification of the coa and spa genes from 80 S. aureus isolates produced 9 and 3 different PCR products, respectively. All 3 methicillin resistant isolates identified by multiplex PCR were observed in the same coa and spa groups. It was concluded that various coagulase types and more than one spa types of S. aureus are present in the region where the study was performed and MRSA isolates were included in unique coa and spa groups. Also, the MRSA colonization rate was considered to be high and may pose a risk for human health.