Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kuwait: A Molecular and Genetic Analysis

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 17
• Main Authors: Alfouzan, Wadha A, Boswihi, Samar S, Udo, Edet E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21.12.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acid resistance; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Chloramphenicol; Chloromycetin; Ciprofloxacin; Clindamycin; Cloning; Composition; COVID-19; Disease transmission; DNA chips; DNA microarray; DNA microarrays; Drug resistance; Erythromycin; Fusidic acid; Gene amplification; Genetic analysis; Gentamicin; Health care facilities; Hospitals; Kanamycin; Methicillin; Minimum inhibitory concentration; molecular typing; MRSA; Mupirocin; Pandemics; Pathogens; Penicillin; Proteins; Public health; Rifampin; spa typing; Spas; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus infections; Teicoplanin; Trimethoprim; Vancomycin; Kuwait; United States > US; Germany; DNA microarray; spa typing; antibiotic resistance; MRSA; molecular typing
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010017

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a major pathogen that causes serious infections in healthcare facilities and in communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate MRSA isolates obtained in a tertiary hospital in Kuwait to assess their antibiotic susceptibility profile and clonal composition. Sixty MRSA isolates collected in 2020 were tested through antibiotic susceptibility testing, typing, and DNA microarray analysis. All isolates were found to be susceptible to vancomycin (MIC: ≤3 µg/mL), teicoplanin (MIC: ≤3 µg/mL), rifampicin, and mupirocin, but were resistant to fusidic acid (n = 43, 72%), trimethoprim (n = 27, 45%), ciprofloxacin (n = 31, 51.7%), gentamicin (n = 14; 23.3%), kanamycin (n = 20; 33.3%), chloramphenicol (n = 7; 11.7%), tetracycline (n = 17; 28.3%), erythromycin (n = 19; 31.6%), inducible clindamycin (n = 13; 21.7%), and constitutive clindamycin (n = 2; 3.3%). The isolates belonged to 30 types and 13 clonal complexes (CCs). The dominant types were t304, t442, t311, t688, and t1234, collectively constituting 28.3% of the isolates. The dominant CCs were CC5 and CC6, which together constituted 46.7% of the isolates. This study provides updated research on antibiotic resistance and changes in the clonal composition of MRSA in a Kuwait hospital, including the disappearance of the ST239-MRSA-III clone that was previously the dominant clone in this hospital.