Investigation of the presence of the mecA gene in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus isolates from patients with urinary tract and wound infections

Staphylococcus aureus is a significant bacterium capable of causing various diseases in humans. S. aureus can lead to severe infections of the skin, skin glands, mucous membranes, septicemia, bone and meningeal inflammations, as well as septic shock. S. aureus is gram-positive, typically positive for catalase and nitrate reduction, coagulase-positive, non-motile, non-spore-forming, and appears microscopically as clusters resembling grape bunches. On blood agar, it often manifests as large, round, golden-yellow colonies with hemolysis. The objective of this study was to isolate S. aureus, identify it, and determine the presence of certain virulence genes in patients with urinary tract and wound infections. To achieve this goal, clinical samples were collected from a total of 188 patients (65 females and 123 males) admitted to Kirkuk Hospital in Kirkuk city between October 1, 2021, and March 5, 2022, due to wound and urinary tract infections. Samples were obtained from different body regions of patients with wound infections using sterile cotton swabs. Subsequently, urine and wound samples were transferred to the laboratory for inoculation into culture media. When culture results were evaluated, 172 out of 188 samples were identified as S. aureus positive. S. aureus was isolated and identified in 65.7% (113) of males and 34.3% (59) of females. Positive S. aureus growth was detected in 80.2% (138) of urine samples. Furthermore, a DNase test was conducted for S. aureus clinical isolates obtained from urinary tract infections (UTIs) and wounds out of the total 188 samples, and the results were found to be 100% positive (172). The ability of 109 S. aureus isolates to produce hemolysin was determined by culturing the bacteria on blood agar medium. In this study, the PCR method was utilized to detect the presence of the mecA gene. The PCR test results for mecA gene detection revealed that the mecA gene responsible for methicillin resistance (MRSA) was present in all 14 isolates (n=14) classified as methicillin-resistant.