The prevalence, antibiotic resistance and mecA characterization of coagulase negative staphylococci recovered from non-healthcare settings in London, UK

Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are important reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes and associated mobile genetic elements and are believed to contribute to the emergence of successful methicillin resistant (MRSA) clones. Although, these bacteria have been linked to various ecological niches, little is known about the dissemination and genetic diversity of antibiotic resistant CoNS in general public settings. Four hundred seventy-nine samples were collected from different non-healthcare/general public settings in various locations (  = 355) and from the hands of volunteers (  = 124) in London UK between April 2013 and Nov 2014. Six hundred forty-three staphylococcal isolates belonging to 19 staphylococcal species were identified. Five hundred seventy-two (94%) isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, and only 34 isolates were fully susceptible. Sixty-eight (11%) positive staphylococcal isolates were determined in this study. SCC types were fully determined for forty-six isolates. Thirteen staphylococci (19%) carried SCC V, followed by 8 isolates carrying SCC type I (2%), 5 SCC type IV (7%), 4 SCC type II (6%), 1 SCC type III (2%), 1 SCC type VI (2%), and 1 SCC type VIII (2%). In addition, three isolates harboured a new SCC type 1A, which carried combination of class A complex and type 1.MLST typing revealed that all strains possess new MLST types and were assigned the following new sequence types: ST599, ST600, ST600, ST600, ST601, ST602, ST602, ST603, ST604, ST605, ST606, ST607 and ST608. The prevalence of antibiotic resistant staphylococci in general public settings demonstrates that antibiotics in the natural environments contribute to the selection of antibiotic resistant microorganisms. The finding of various SCC types in non-healthcare associated environments indicates the complexity of SCC . We also report on new MLST types that were assigned for all isolates, which demonstrates the genetic variability of these isolates.

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Article number = 73.