BACKGROUND Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the main cause of hospital infection emerged over the last decades. Rapid detection of MRSA is important for patient care and proper usage of infection control. Detection of mecA genes (encoding resistance to methicillin and other similar antibiotics) and nuc genes (encoding staphylococcal thermostable nuclease) by PCR method is n...

To examine the effect of adenosine A(3) receptor stimulation on airway mucociliary clearance, we measured transport of Evans blue dye in rabbit trachea in vivo and ciliary motility of epithelium by the photoelectric method in vitro. Mucociliary transport was enhanced dose dependently by the selective A(3) agonist N(6)-(3-iodobenzyl)-5'-N-methylcarbamoyladenosine (IB-MECA) and to a lesser extent...

The prevalence, virulence potential, and antibiotic resistance of ophthalmic Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (SP) isolated from dogs were examined. Sixty-seven Staphylococcus species were isolated from ophthalmic samples and surveyed for species-specific sequences in the Staphylococcus intermedius group (SIG) nuclease gene (SInuc), exfoliative toxin gene for SIG (siet), and antibiotic resistanc...

BACKGROUND Cefoxitin is a potent inducer of the mecA gene. It is currently as a screening recommended method for presumptive identification of isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The aim of the study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the cefoxitin disc diffusion (30 μg) to oxacillin agar screening from detection of the mecA gene by PCR. METHODS Thre...

The MRSA screen test (Denka Seiken Co., Ltd.), a commercially available, rapid (20-min) slide latex agglutination test for the determination of methicillin resistance by detection of PBP 2a in Staphylococcus aureus, was compared with the oxacillin agar screen test and PCR detection of the mecA gene. A total of 563 S. aureus isolates were tested. Two hundred ninety-six of the isolates were methi...

OBJECTIVE To examine the recovered strains phenotypically, by conventional methods and genotypically by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for direct detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) 16S ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid (rRNA) gene (which serves as an internal control) and mecA gene. Secondly, introduce multiplex PCR targeting at the same time S. aureus 16S rRNA, Panton-Valentine Leucocid...

We evaluated three rapid methods to detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and compared them with PCR amplification of mecA. A total of 103 S. aureus strains were studied by MRSA-Screen, BBL Crystal, Velogene Genomic and mecA PCR. All the methods detected the 61 MRSA strains having the mecA gene, showing 100% sensitivity and specificity. Despite the correlation between all th...

The region surrounding mecA in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is highly variable. We describe an approach for the rapid genotyping of MRSA by assaying for the presence or absence of variable or mobile elements previously shown to be associated with the mecA region.

A duplex LightCycler PCR assay targeting the mecA gene and a Staphylococcus aureus-specific marker was used to test 165 S. aureus strains and 80 strains of other bacterial species. Within an assay time of 60 min plus 10 min for sample preparation, S. aureus as well as the presence or absence of the mecA gene was correctly identified.

BACKGROUND. Phenotypic tests for detection of mecA containing staphylococci have been challenged. Cefoxitin (FOX) disk diffusion (DD) has been reported to more accurately predict mecA gene presence than oxacillin (OX) DD. The Phoenix instrument rapidly provides identification and susceptibility data and it is of interest to determine if an experimental panel containing OX and FOX could accurate...