Phenotypic And Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Isolated from Clinical Samples in Samarra City

Abstract

The study was conducted in the laboratories of the Department of Life Sciences - College of Education / Samarra University and the laboratories of the Department of Pathological Analyzes - College of Applied Sciences / Samarra University for the period from November 5/11/2021 to February 5/2/2022 by collecting 100 samples from (swabs of burns, wounds, skin infections and inflammation tonsils) from patients arriving at Samarra General Hospital, and according to the phenotypic, cultural and biochemical characteristics, 55 isolates (55%) were identified as Staphyloccocus. aureus.Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA was diagnosed by methicillin disc spread and the results showed that among 55 S. aureus isolates, 20 isolates (36%) were diagnosed as methicillin-resistant while 35 isolates (64%) were sensitive to methicillin.The results showed that the highest percentage of MRSA was in burn samples (45%). DNA was extracted from MRSA isolates and PCR technique was used to determine the presence of the MecA resistance gene, and the MecA gene appeared in all MRSA isolates. The study showed that the highest prevalence of MRSA bacteria was in the first age group, young at age, at a rate of (45%), then followed by the second and third age groups, at a rate of (30%) (25%). The study also showed that the percentage of MRSA isolates among females carrying S. aureus bacteria was greater than its percentage among males, as it was in females by (60%), while the percentage of its presence in males was (40%).