Clonal diversity of Staphylococcus aureus isolates in clinical specimens from selected health facilities in Ethiopia.

Staphylococcus aureus is among the top three causative agents of nosocomial infection in Ethiopia. The majority of studies in Ethiopia have focused on the epidemiology of S. aureus in hospital settings, with limited molecular genotyping results. Molecular characterization of S. aureus is essential for identification of strains, and contributes to the control and prevention of S. aureus infection. The aim of the current study was to determine the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered from clinical specimens in Ethiopia. A total of 161 MSSA and 9 MRSA isolates were characterized using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing. Based on the PFGE analysis, MSSA isolates were grouped into eight pulso-types groups (from A to I), while MRSA isolates clustered into three (A, B and C) pulso-types with more than 80% similarity. The spa typing analysis showed diversity of S. aureus with 56 distinct spa types. Spa type t355 was most prevalent (56/170, 32.9%), while eleven new spa types were detected including t20038, t20039, and t20042. The identified spa types were clustered into 15 spa-clonal complexes (spa-CCs) using BURP analysis; novel/unknown spa types were further subjected to MLST analysis. The majority of isolates belonged to spa-CC 152 (62/170, 36.4%), followed by spa-CC 121 (19/170, 11.2%), and spa-CC 005 (18 /170, 10.6%). Of the nine MRSA isolates, 2 (22.2%) were spa-CC 239 with staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC)mec III. These findings highlight the diversity of S. aureus strains in Ethiopia, as well as the presence of potentially epidemic strains circulating in the country necessitating further characterization of S. aureus for antimicrobial resistance detection and infection prevention purposes.

Antimicrobial resistance profile of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients, healthcare workers, and the environment in a tertiary hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Staphylococcus aureus infection and colonization in patients may be transmitted to healthcare providers and the environment and subsequently cause healthcare-associated infections in other patients. Pathogenic S. aureus strains produce virulence factors, such as Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL), that contribute to the severity of infections and aid in their spread. The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is additional concern with respect to S. aureus infection. In this study, the virulence genes and antibiotic resistance profiles of S. aureus were characterized from patients' clinical isolates, healthcare workers' (HCWs') nasal colonization screenings, and the environment at a tertiary healthcare hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 365 samples were collected from September 2021 to September 2022: 73 patients' clinical specimens, 202 colonization screenings from HCWs, and 90 hospital environment's swabs. Fifty-one (25.2%) HCW and 10/90 (11.1%) environment S. aureus isolates were identified. Among the 134 isolates, 10 (7.5%) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Three (4.1%), five (9.8%), and two (20.0%) of the MRSA isolates were identified from the patients, HCWs, and the environment, respectively. Overall, 118 (88.1%) were ampicillin and penicillin resistant; 70 (52.2%) were trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole resistant; and 28 (20.9%) were erythromycin resistant. S. aureus isolates from patients were more resistant to antibiotics than isolates from HCWs or the hospital environment (p<0.05). A total of 92/134 (68.6%) isolates possessed the lukfF-PV gene, which was identified in 62 (85.0%), 26 (51.0%), and 4 (40.0%) of the patient, HCWs, and the environment, respectively. The proportion of lukfF-PV gene containing S. aureus isolated from patient samples was statistically significant. Four (40.0%) of the MRSA isolates also had the lukfF-PV gene. The identification of highly AMR and virulence factors from patients, HCWs and the environment is concerning. Further studies are needed to identify potential transmission links and improve infection prevention and control.