HATİCE TÜRK DAĞI, DUYGU FINDIK, GAMZE DEMİREL, UĞUR ARSLAN
Balkan Medical Journal - 2015;32(2):171-175
Background: Staphylococus aureus can be found as a commensal on skin and nasal flora or it may cause local and invasive infections S aureus has a large number of virulence factors Aims: To investigate the methicillin resistance and frequency of various virulence factors in S aureus nasal isolates Study Design: Descriptive study METHODS: Nasal samples collected from university students were cultured in media S aureus was identified by conventional methods and the Staphyloslide latex test (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, USA) Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted, and the methicillin resistance was determined The mecA, nuc, pvl and staphylococcal toxin genes were examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) RESULTS: S aureus was isolated in 104 of 600 (17 3%) nasal samples In total, 101 (97 1%) S aureus isolates were methicillin-sensitive and the remaining 3 (2 9%) were methicillin-resistant Furthermore, all but five isolates carried at least one staphylococcal enterotoxin gene, with seg being predominant The tst and eta genes were determined in 29 (27 9%), and 3 (2 9%) isolates, respectively None of the S aureus isolates harbored see, etb, and pvl genes CONCLUSION: A moderate rate of S aureus carriage and low frequency of MRSA were detected in healthy students S aureus isolates had a high prevalence of staphylococcal enterotoxin genes and the tst gene In this study, a large number of virulence factors were examined in S aureus nasal isolates, and the data obtained from this study can be used for monitoring the prevalence of virulence genes in S aureus strains isolated from nasal carriers
