Molecular Epidemiology of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and MRSA in Bedridden Patients and Residents of Long-Term Care Facilities

• Main Authors: Lucas Porangaba Silva (Author), Carlos Magno Castelo Branco Fortaleza (Author), Nathalia Bibiana Teixeira (Author), Luís Thadeo Poianas Silva (Author), Carolina Destro de Angelis (Author), Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antibiotics11111526; 2079-6382
• Keywords: elderly population; long-term care facility; bedridden patients; <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>; MRSA; molecular epidemiology; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antibiotics, Vol 11, Iss 11, p 1526 (2022)

At present, multidrug-resistant microorganisms are already responsible for community-acquired infections. Methicillin-resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) poses a serious public health risk worldwide because of the rapid spread and diversification of pandemic clones that are characterized by increasing virulence and antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and factors associated with nasal, oral and rectal carriage of <i>S. aureus</i> and MRSA in bedridden patients and residents of long-term care facilities for the elderly (LTCFs) in Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Nasal, oral and rectal swab isolates obtained from 226 LTCF residents or home-bedridden patients between 2017 and 2018 were submitted to susceptibility testing, detection of the <i>mecA</i> gene, SCC<i>mec</i> characterization, and molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with the presence of <i>S. aureus</i> and MRSA. The prevalence of <i>S. aureus</i> and MRSA was 33.6% (<i>n</i> = 76) and 8% (<i>n</i> = 18), respectively. At the nine LTCFs studied, the prevalence of <i>S. aureus</i> ranged from 16.6% to 85.7% and that of MRSA from 13.3% to 25%. Living in an LTCF, male gender, a history of surgeries, and a high Charlson Comorbidity Index score were risk factors associated with <i>S. aureus</i> carriage, while MRSA carriage was positively associated with male gender. This study showed a high prevalence of <i>S. aureus</i> among elderly residents of small (<15 residents) and medium-sized (15-49 residents) LTCFs and a higher prevalence of MRSA in the oropharynx.