Location
CSU Ballroom
Start Date
21-4-2014 10:00 AM
End Date
21-4-2014 11:30 AM
Student's Major
Biological Sciences
Student's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Mentor's Name
Timothy Secott
Mentor's Email Address
timothy.secott@mnsu.edu
Mentor's Department
Biological Sciences
Mentor's College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Description
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming more commonly encountered in clinical settings. The prevalence of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus species other than Staphylococcus aureus, and therefore the potential for the former to serve as a reservoir for methicillin resistance has not been studied in great detail. Staphylococcus species isolated from students as part of a class exercise in Medical Microbiology in 2012 were screened for resistance to oxacillin, which is similar to methicillin and is prescribed much more frequently. The identification of isolates was verified, and isolates were screened on oxacillin screening agar plates. Isolates that screened positive for oxacillin resistance were tested further to determine the minimum concentrations of oxacillin necessary for growth inhibition (MIC testing). Putative oxacillin-resistant isolates were also tested for the presence of mecA using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Five of 46 Staphylococcus isolates (10.6%) were oxacillin resistant when tested on oxacillin screening agar. None of the resistant isolates was identified as S. aureus. MIC testing revealed that 4 of 5 isolates were resistant to oxacillin, and 3 of 5 isolates contained the mecA gene, supporting the characterization of these isolates as oxacillin resistant. These data demonstrate the potential for coagulase negative staphylococci to serve as a reservoir for oxacillin resistance.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Included in
Carriage of Methicillin Resistance in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci
CSU Ballroom
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is becoming more commonly encountered in clinical settings. The prevalence of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus species other than Staphylococcus aureus, and therefore the potential for the former to serve as a reservoir for methicillin resistance has not been studied in great detail. Staphylococcus species isolated from students as part of a class exercise in Medical Microbiology in 2012 were screened for resistance to oxacillin, which is similar to methicillin and is prescribed much more frequently. The identification of isolates was verified, and isolates were screened on oxacillin screening agar plates. Isolates that screened positive for oxacillin resistance were tested further to determine the minimum concentrations of oxacillin necessary for growth inhibition (MIC testing). Putative oxacillin-resistant isolates were also tested for the presence of mecA using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Five of 46 Staphylococcus isolates (10.6%) were oxacillin resistant when tested on oxacillin screening agar. None of the resistant isolates was identified as S. aureus. MIC testing revealed that 4 of 5 isolates were resistant to oxacillin, and 3 of 5 isolates contained the mecA gene, supporting the characterization of these isolates as oxacillin resistant. These data demonstrate the potential for coagulase negative staphylococci to serve as a reservoir for oxacillin resistance.
Recommended Citation
Moller, Christa. "Carriage of Methicillin Resistance in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 21, 2014.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2014/poster_session_A/25
