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Rapid confirmation of suspected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonies on chromogenic agars by a new commercial PCR assay, the GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose

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Abstract

A new automated closed tube PCR assay, the GenomEra™ MRSA/SA Diagnose (Abacus Diagnostica Oy, Finland) was evaluated for rapid confirmation of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from cultured screening specimens. The ability of the assay to detect genotypically different MRSA strains was studied with a collection of 304 MRSA isolates covering 68 spa types. The specificity was investigated with a collection of 146 non-MRSA staphylococcus isolates. The usefulness of the assay for clinical purposes was assessed by a sequential combination of MRSA screening culture and confirmation of the colonies with the GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose assay. A total of 145 suspected MRSA colonies on chromogenic plates were analyzed this way. All MRSA isolates from the culture collection and from the clinical screening specimens were confirmed as MRSA with the GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose assay and none of the non-MRSA staphylococci caused false-positive results, which indicates both sensitivity and specificity of 100%. The combination of GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose with preceding culture on selective MRSA agar permitted MRSA confirmation within 24 h. This practice offers a reliable and quick detection of MRSA that is also suitable in areas where several strain types cause epidemics.

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Acknowledgements

The GenomEra CDX™ instruments and the GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose test kits were kindly provided by Abacus Diagnostica Oy (Turku, Finland) for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Vaasa Central Hospital, Hietalahdenkatu 2-4 B2, 65130, Vaasa, Finland

    J. J. Hirvonen & S.-S. Kaukoranta

  2. Fimlab Laboratories, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, Biokatu 4, 33520, Tampere, Finland

    M. Nevalainen

  3. Division of Clinical Microbiology, HUSLAB, Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 3, 00029, Helsinki, Finland

    P. Tissari

  4. Department of Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Mannerheimintie 166, P.O. Box 30, 00270, Helsinki, Finland

    S. Salmenlinna

  5. Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4–8, 20521, Turku, Finland

    K. Rantakokko-Jalava

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  1. J. J. Hirvonen
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  2. M. Nevalainen
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Correspondence to J. J. Hirvonen.

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Hirvonen, J.J., Nevalainen, M., Tissari, P. et al. Rapid confirmation of suspected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonies on chromogenic agars by a new commercial PCR assay, the GenomEra MRSA/SA Diagnose. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 31, 1961–1968 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1527-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1527-0

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