Molecular epidemiology of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus species in healthcare workers of a blood bank in the Brazilian Amazon

• Published in: BMC microbiology 2021-11, Vol.21 (1), p.306-306, Article 306
• Main Authors: Ferreira, Cristina Motta, Filho, Roberto Alexandre Alves Barbosa, Ferreira, Guilherme Motta Antunes, de Lacerda, Marcus Vinicius Guimarães, de Oliveira, Cintia Mara Costa, de Souza Sampaio, Vanderson, Silva, Lucyane Mendes, Pascoal, Andreza Gomes, Ferreira, William Antunes
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Ampicillin; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Bayesian analysis; Blood; Blood banks; Blood Banks - statistics & numerical data; Brazil - epidemiology; Carrier State - epidemiology; Carrier State - microbiology; Causes of; Cefoxitin; Clone; Cloning; Colonization; Cross infection; Epidemiology; Erythromycin; Female; Gene sequencing; Genes; Gram-positive bacteria; Hand - microbiology; Health aspects; Health care; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Hematology; Hospitalization; Hospitals; Humans; Intensive care; Laboratories; Male; MecA protein; Medical personnel; Methicillin; Methicillin Resistance; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Molecular Epidemiology; Multidrug resistance; Multilocus sequence typing; Multirresistance; Nasopharynx; Nasopharynx - microbiology; Nosocomial infection; Nosocomial infections; Oxacillin; Penicillin; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Risk factors; S. epidermidis; Software; Staphylococcus aureus infections; Staphylococcus epidermidis; Staphylococcus epidermidis - classification; Staphylococcus epidermidis - drug effects; Staphylococcus epidermidis - genetics; Staphylococcus epidermidis - isolation & purification; Staphylococcus infections; Statistical inference; Statistics; Technicians
• ISSN: 1471-2180; 1471-2180
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-021-02365-1

Healthcare workers are susceptible to colonization by multiresistant bacteria, which can increase the risk of outbreaks. Samples were collected from the nasopharynx, hands, and lab coats of healthcare workers. The phenotypic identification was carried out using a VITEK®2 rapid test system. PCR tests for the mecA gene and the sequencing of the amplicons were performed. Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus phylogenies were reconstructed using the Bayesian inference. A total of 225 healthcare workers participated in this study. Of these, 21.3% were male and 78.7% female. S. epidermidis and S.aureus showed high levels of resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline and cefoxitin. The prevalence of methicillin resistant S. aureus was 3.16% and methicillin resistant S. epidermidis was 100%. Multilocus sequence typing identified 23 new S. epidermidis sequence types, and one new allele and sequence type for S. aureus. The frequency of methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis in nursing and hemotherapy technicians as a percentage of the total number of healthcare workers was 5.8-3.1%, while the frequency of methicillin resistant S. aureus in hemotherapy technicians and biomedics, as a percentage of the total number of healthcare workers was 4.2-8.9%%. The healthcare workers at the city's blood bank, even when taking the necessary care with their hands, body and clothes, harbour methicillin-resistant S. aureus and S. epidermidis sequence types, which, as a potential source of multidrug resistant bacteria, can contribute to nosocomial infections among hematological patients.