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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2005, p. 2782-2785, Vol. 43, No. 6
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.6.2782-2785.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus sciuri in the Hospital Environment

Ivana Daki,¹ Donald Morrison,² Dragana Vukovi,¹ Branislava Savi,¹ Adebayo Shittu,³ Petr Jeek,⁴ Tomasz Hauschild,⁵ and Srdjan Stepanovi^1*

Department of Bacteriology, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia,¹ Scottish MRSA Reference Laboratory, Microbiology Department, Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow G21 3UW, United Kingdom,² School of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, 4000 Durban, Republic of South Africa,³ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Regional Hospital Píbram, CZ-26126 Píbram, Czech Republic,⁴ Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Bialystok, 15-950 Bialystok, Poland⁵

Received 17 October 2004/ Returned for modification 4 December 2004/ Accepted 27 February 2005

Staphylococcus sciuri is a principally animal-associated bacterial species, but its clinical relevance for humans is increasing. Our study aimed to provide the first insight into the prevalence of this bacterium in a hospital environment. A 3-month surveillance was conducted in a hospital located in Belgrade, Serbia, and 1,028 samples taken from hands of medical personnel, medical devices, and various hospital surfaces were screened for S. sciuri presence. In total, 108 isolates were obtained, which resulted in a relatively high rate of colonization (10.5%). These isolates, along with 7 S. sciuri strains previously isolated in the same hospital (n = 115), were phenotypically and genotypically characterized. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that 73% of the strains were resistant to one or more antibiotics, with 4.3% strains displaying multiresistance. Examination of 16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer length polymorphism identified the strains at the subspecies level, and 74 (64.3%) strains of S. sciuri subsp. sciuri, 37 (32.2%) strains of S. sciuri subsp. rodentium, and 4 (3.5%) strains of S. sciuri subsp. carnaticus were established. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis showed 21 distinct pulsotypes, including 17 main types and 4 subtypes. One dominant cluster with 62 strains was found, while 19 (90.5%) of the PFGE types and subtypes identified had 5 or fewer strains. The predominance of small PFGE clusters suggests that the ubiquitous presence of S. sciuri in the outside environment presents the continuous source for colonization of the hospital environment. The presence of one dominant PFGE cluster of strains indicates that some S. sciuri strains may be capable for adaptation to hospital environment conditions and continuous existence in this environment.

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