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An Exploratory Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and SCCmec Elements Obtained from a Community Setting Along the Texas Border with Mexico

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Abstract

An exploratory study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and SCCmec elements in bacteria along the Mexican border of south Texas was performed. Between September and December of 2008, 375 swabs of anterior nares were self-collected by students attending the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and cultured for MRSA. Fifty seven bacterial isolates were kept for further analysis that included suspected MRSA and other SCCmec-containing bacteria. Isolates were examined for the presence of nuc, mecA, lukS-PV, and spa genes using PCR. SCCmec and spa typing were also performed. Seven S. aureus isolates were found of which six were classified as MRSA. SCCmec typing showed five of the six MRSA strains to be type IV, while one MRSA strain, and most of the non-S. aureus strains, were untypeable, producing results that were indicative of mixed SCCmec types. Five of the six MRSA strains contained known spa types (two of which corresponded to USA300 and one to USA600), while one strain had a novel spa type. Only one isolate, a USA300 MRSA, was positive for lukS-PV. Easy access by the Texas border community to antibiotics in Mexico without a prescription, and the strong partition in SCCmec types between MRSA and non-S. aureus bacteria suggest that this border region of Texas may be uniquely suited for the study of emerging SCCmec types, their horizontal transfer, and perhaps other aspects of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the CDC for reference cultures, the Welch Foundation Grant BG-0017 (support for JCG), the HHMI grant #52005209 to UTPA (support for RP), and NIH EARDA grant #5G11HD038438-08.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas- Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    David R. Ammons, Raghuveer Puttagunta, Jose C. Granados, Georgina de la Garza & Joanne Rampersad

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, The University of Texas- Pan American, 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA

    George S. Eyambe

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  1. David R. Ammons
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  2. Raghuveer Puttagunta
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  3. Jose C. Granados
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  4. Georgina de la Garza
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  5. George S. Eyambe
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  6. Joanne Rampersad
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Correspondence to Joanne Rampersad.

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Ammons, D.R., Puttagunta, R., Granados, J.C. et al. An Exploratory Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and SCCmec Elements Obtained from a Community Setting Along the Texas Border with Mexico. Curr Microbiol 60, 321–326 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-009-9544-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-009-9544-2

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