ABSTRACT
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a well-known nosocomial pathogen in tertiary healthcare facilities, can cause severe life-threatening symptoms. Nowadays, prevention and control of outbreaks related to hospital-acquired infections need molecular information to distinguish and definitely define a real etiology. For the last decade, molecular techniques have been developed and applied to an epidemiological study of infectious diseases. Among them, polymerase chain reaction-based typing techniques are most feasible to be used as molecular tools in clinical microbiology laboratory in Thailand. In this study, PCR-based typing methods, including SCCmec typing, variable numbers of tandem repeats typing of hypervariable region downstream of mecA (HVR) locus and spa gene, were applied in order to determine genetic background, and major endemic clones in Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen. A total of 247 MRSA isolated from 124 patients of Srinagarind Hospital during July 2007 through December 2008 were characterized by the PCR-based typing methods described above. Five SCCmec types were identified as type-III (60.7%), type-IIIA (30.8%), type-II SCCmec (6%), type-III DCS (1.7%), and type-I variant with class C mec complex (0.9%), respectively. HVR and spa typing differentiated MRSA into 5 and 10 groups, respectively. Combination of all genetic markers could identify two major clones, III-15-7 (43.6%), and IIIA-7-7 (22.2%). Medical wards and medical intensive care unit were considered as endemic areas of these two clones. Information in this study may be applied to infection control measure and lead to development of suitable PCR-typing techniques for MRSA in clinical laboratory.
ABSTRACT
Background: Health personnel always carry and use mobile phone for communication; therefore, mobile phone may be the source and cause of Staphylococcus aureus contamination and endemic in the hospital.Objective: To study the prevalence of S. aureus contamination on the mobile phone of health personnel in Srinagarind hospital.Materials and Methods: Health personnel will be randomized by simple method; the outer surfaces of the mobile phone will be swabbed and cultured using Transferred Mannitol salt agar. Study design: Descriptive Study.Site of the study: Srinagarind Hospital.Population and sample: Two hundred twenty mobile phones of health personnel.Results: Sixty four of 220 samples (34.5%) of mobile phones were contaminated, thirty two samples (14.5%) were found to be S. aureus and 32 samples (14.5%) were not S. aureus. Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was found in seven sample (3.2%), however, there was no Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) found in this study. Eighty five (43.2%) personnel always clean their mobile phones using clean wet cloth or alcohol to wipe out their mobile phones. The risk of mobile phone contamination was 1.5 times higher in the no-cleaning mobile phone than the cleaning one. Conclusion: There was 14.5% prevalence of S. aureus contamination on the health personnel’s mobile phone at Srinagarind hospital. To clean and wipe out the mobile phone will reduce the chance of this contamination. Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, mobile phones, health personnel, contamination, mehticilin resistant / sensitive