CHARACTERISTICS AND ANTIBIOGRAM OF SMALL COLONY VARIANTS OF Staphylococcus aureus FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN EASTERN INDIA

Introduction: Small colony variants (SCVs) are morphotypes of Staphylococcus aureus that are about onetenth the size of wild-type Staphylococcus aureus. They are slow growing and produce indolent infections, and are usually auxotrophic for Vitamin K, Carbon dioxide or hemin. They are prone to be missed unless meticulous suspicion is there, because coagulase test is often delayed and hemolysis on blood agar can be negative. They are also sometimes resistant to multiple antibiotics. These atypical variants hence need to be studied further in these respects. Materials and methods: We here present the microbial and clinical characteristics of these variants isolated in our laboratory by routine culture methods and biochemical tests and describe their in-vitro antibiotic susceptibilities. Results: Different type of SCVs auxotrophic for various substrates were isolated during this period. Conclusion: SCV S. aureus can often be missed and need to be identified and categorised properly for empirical treatment.