Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious public health problem. There is limited information regarding the genetics of MRSA strains among the native Iraqi and incoming Syrian refugee communities. We aimed to characterize the genotypes and different virulence factors of MRSA in...

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Main Authors: Narin A Rasheed, Nawfal R Hussein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237714
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author Narin A Rasheed
Nawfal R Hussein
author_facet Narin A Rasheed
Nawfal R Hussein
author_sort Narin A Rasheed
collection DOAJ
description Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious public health problem. There is limited information regarding the genetics of MRSA strains among the native Iraqi and incoming Syrian refugee communities. We aimed to characterize the genotypes and different virulence factors of MRSA in strains isolated from these two communities. Frozen MRSA strains (125) isolated from the native Iraqi and Syrian refugee communities were used in this study. PCR (singleplex and multiplex) and agr typing was used for the genotypic analysis of different virulence genes. We tested for the presence of virulence genes including pvl, arcA, tst, lukE/lukD, hla, hlb, eta, etb and agr. Prevalence of arcA MRSA in the Iraqi community (56.58%) was significantly higher (p = 0.008) than that in the Syrian refugee community (32.66%). Prevalence of lukE-lukD was also significantly higher (p = 0.001) in the Iraqi (82.89%) compared to that in the Syrian refugee community (57.14%). Further, prevalence of hla MRSA in the Iraqi community was (93.4%) and in the Syrian refugee community was (71.4%); (p = 0.0008). No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of pvl, tst, eta, etb and hlb. The most dominant agr types in both Iraqi (76.1% and 10.5%) and Syrian refugee (44.9% and 18.37%) communities were I and III. To sum up, no significant differences were observed between the groups for a majority of virulence factors. This is the first investigation of MRSA genotypes and virulence in both these communities. These results could be useful for further studies that assess the genetic relatedness of strains in the region for epidemiological and monitoring purposes, which would be crucial to limiting the spread of MRSA.
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spelling doaj.art-6958d1012ba346f8bf1949363a8aa1a12022-12-21T23:09:02ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01158e023771410.1371/journal.pone.0237714Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.Narin A RasheedNawfal R HusseinMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a serious public health problem. There is limited information regarding the genetics of MRSA strains among the native Iraqi and incoming Syrian refugee communities. We aimed to characterize the genotypes and different virulence factors of MRSA in strains isolated from these two communities. Frozen MRSA strains (125) isolated from the native Iraqi and Syrian refugee communities were used in this study. PCR (singleplex and multiplex) and agr typing was used for the genotypic analysis of different virulence genes. We tested for the presence of virulence genes including pvl, arcA, tst, lukE/lukD, hla, hlb, eta, etb and agr. Prevalence of arcA MRSA in the Iraqi community (56.58%) was significantly higher (p = 0.008) than that in the Syrian refugee community (32.66%). Prevalence of lukE-lukD was also significantly higher (p = 0.001) in the Iraqi (82.89%) compared to that in the Syrian refugee community (57.14%). Further, prevalence of hla MRSA in the Iraqi community was (93.4%) and in the Syrian refugee community was (71.4%); (p = 0.0008). No significant differences were observed in the prevalence of pvl, tst, eta, etb and hlb. The most dominant agr types in both Iraqi (76.1% and 10.5%) and Syrian refugee (44.9% and 18.37%) communities were I and III. To sum up, no significant differences were observed between the groups for a majority of virulence factors. This is the first investigation of MRSA genotypes and virulence in both these communities. These results could be useful for further studies that assess the genetic relatedness of strains in the region for epidemiological and monitoring purposes, which would be crucial to limiting the spread of MRSA.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237714
spellingShingle Narin A Rasheed
Nawfal R Hussein
Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
PLoS ONE
title Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
title_full Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
title_fullStr Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
title_full_unstemmed Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
title_short Characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from Iraqis and Syrian refugees in Duhok city, Iraq.
title_sort characterization of different virulent factors in methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from iraqis and syrian refugees in duhok city iraq
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237714
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