Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a leading cause of health care-associated infections. Additionally, over the decades, the spread of community-associated (CA-MRSA) clones has become a serious problem. The aim of this study was to gain data on the current epidemiology of MRSA in Slovakia. Between January 2020 and March 2020, single-patient MRSA isolates (invasive and/or colonizing) were collected in Slovakia from hospitalized inpatients (16 hospitals) or outpatients (77 cities). Isolates were characterized via antimicrobial susceptibility testing, spa typing, SCCmec typing, the detection of mecA/mecC, genes coding for Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and the arcA gene (part of the arginine catabolic mobile element [ACME]). Out of 412 isolates, 167 and 245 originated from hospitalized patients and outpatients, respectively. Inpatients were most likely older (P < 0.001) and carried a strain exhibiting multiple resistance (P = 0.015). Isolates were frequently resistant to erythromycin (n = 320), clindamycin (n = 268), and ciprofloxacin/norfloxacin (n = 261). 55 isolates were resistant to oxacillin/cefoxitin only. By clonal structure, CC5-MRSA-II (n = 106; spa types t003, t014), CC22-MRSA-IV (n = 75; t032), and CC8-MRSA-IV (n = 65; t008) were the most frequent. We identified PVL in 72 isolates (17.48%; 17/412), with the majority belonging to CC8-MRSA-IV (n = 55; arcA+; t008, t622; the USA300 CA-MRSA clone) and CC5-MRSA-IV (n = 13; t311, t323). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the epidemiology of MRSA in Slovakia. The presence of the epidemic HA-MRSA clones CC5-MRSA-II and CC22-MRSA-IV was found, as was, importantly, the emergence of the global epidemic USA300 CA-MRSA clone. The extensive spread of USA300 among inpatients and outpatients across the Slovakian regions warrants further investigation. IMPORTANCE The epidemiology of MRSA is characterized by the rise and fall of epidemic clones. Understanding the spread, as well as the evolution of successful MRSA clones, depends on the knowledge of global MRSA epidemiology. However, basic knowledge about MRSA epidemiology is still fragmented or completely missing in some parts of the world. This is the first study of MRSA epidemiology in Slovakia to identify the presence of the epidemic HA-MRSA clones CC5-MRSA-II and CC22-MRSA-IV and, importantly and unexpectedly, the emergence of the global epidemic USA300 CA-MRSA clone in the Slovakian community and hospitals. So far, USA300 has failed to spread in Europe, and this study documents an extensive spread of this epidemic clone in a European country for the first time.

• Klíčová slova
• CA-MRSA, MRSA, PVL, Slovakia, USA300, spa typing,
• MeSH
• infekce spojené se zdravotní péčí * epidemiologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus * genetika   MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
• nemocnice MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce * epidemiologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major causes of bloodstream infections. The aim of our study was to characterize methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from blood of patients hospitalized in the Czech Republic between 2016 and 2018. All MRSA strains were tested for antibiotic susceptibility, analyzed by spa typing and clustered using a Based Upon Repeat Pattern (BURP) algorithm. The representative isolates of the four most common spa types and representative isolates of all spa clonal complexes were further typed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing. The majority of MRSA strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin (94%), erythromycin (95.5%) and clindamycin (95.6%). Among the 618 strains analyzed, 52 different spa types were detected. BURP analysis divided them into six different clusters. The most common spa types were t003, t586, t014 and t002, all belonging to the CC5 (clonal complex). CC5 was the most abundant MLST CC of our study, comprising of 91.7% (n = 565) of spa-typeable isolates. Other CCs present in our study were CC398, CC22, CC8, CC45 and CC97. To our knowledge, this is the biggest nationwide study aimed at typing MRSA blood isolates from the Czech Republic.

• Klíčová slova
• MLST, MRSA, SCCmec typing, Staphylococcus aureus, clonal analysis, epidemiology, spa typing,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The aim of this study was to trace the dynamic changes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lineages in the local hospital in both the national and international context. We describe genotypic and phenotypic characterization of 62 non-duplicate MRSA isolates collected during 2010-2016 at University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. The isolates were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST), spa typing, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing (SCCmec typing). Eight different genotypes were described; ST225-t003-II (32/62, 52%), ST5-t002-II (13/62, 22%), and ST225-t014-II (12/62, 21%) were constantly detected over the 7-year follow-up period. The genotypes ST225-t151-II, ST225-t1282-II, ST225-t1623-II, ST78-t2832-II, and ST225-t8799-II occurred only once in the period reported. The majority of the strains, represented by ST225, belonged to clonal complex 5 (CC5).

• MeSH
• antibakteriální látky farmakologie   MeSH
• bakteriemie epidemiologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus klasifikace   účinky léků   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• multilokusová sekvenční typizace MeSH
• nemocnice univerzitní MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce epidemiologie   MeSH
• techniky typizace bakterií MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antibakteriální látky MeSH

BACKGROUND: Cases of colonization or infection caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are frequently reported in people who work with animals, including veterinary personnel. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MRSA colonization among veterinary professionals. A total of 134 nasal swabs from healthy attendees of a veterinary conference held in the Czech Republic were tested for presence of MRSA. The stains were further genotypically and phenotypically characterized. RESULTS: Nine isolated MRSA strains were characterized with sequence type (ST), spa type (t) and Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec type. Five different genotypes were described, including ST398-t011-IV (n = 5), ST398-t2330-IV (n = 1), ST398-t034-V (n = 1), ST225-t003-II (n = 1) and ST4894-t011-IV (n = 1). The carriage of the animal MRSA strain was confirmed in 8 cases, characteristics of one strain corresponded to the possible nosocomial origin. Among animal strains were described three spa types (t011, t034, t2330) belonging into one dominating clonal complex spa-CC11. CONCLUSION: According to our results, the prevalence of nasal carriage of MRSA in veterinary personnel is 6.72%. Although we described an increase compared to the results of previous study (year 2008), the prevalence in the Czech Republic is still remaining lower than reported from neighboring countries. Our results also indicate that healthcare - associated MRSA strains are still not spread among animals.

• Klíčová slova
• Carriage, Companion animals, Czech Republic, Livestock, Livestock-associated MRSA, Veterinarians,
• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus klasifikace   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• nos mikrobiologie   MeSH
• pracovní expozice MeSH
• přenašečství epidemiologie   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• prevalence MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce epidemiologie   MeSH
• studenti MeSH
• studium veterinárního lékařství MeSH
• veterináři * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH

Lytic bacteriophages are valuable therapeutic agents against bacterial infections. There is continual effort to obtain new phages to increase the effectivity of phage preparations against emerging phage-resistant strains. Here we described the genomic diversity of spontaneous host-range mutants of kayvirus 812. Five mutant phages were isolated as rare plaques on phage-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains. The host range of phage 812-derived mutants was 42% higher than the wild type, determined on a set of 186 methicillin-resistant S. aureus strains representing the globally circulating human and livestock-associated clones. Comparative genomics revealed that single-nucleotide polymorphisms from the parental phage 812 population were fixed in next-step mutants, mostly in genes for tail and baseplate components, and the acquired point mutations led to diverse receptor binding proteins in the phage mutants. Numerous genome changes associated with rearrangements between direct repeat motifs or intron loss were found. Alterations occurred in host-takeover and terminal genomic regions or the endolysin gene of mutants that exhibited the highest lytic activity, which implied various mechanisms of overcoming bacterial resistance. The genomic data revealed that Kayvirus spontaneous mutants are free from undesirable genes and their lytic properties proved their suitability for rapidly updating phage therapeutics.

• MeSH
• bakteriální léková rezistence MeSH
• bakteriofágy genetika   MeSH
• délka genomu MeSH
• genom virový MeSH
• genomika MeSH
• jednonukleotidový polymorfismus MeSH
• methicilin farmakologie   MeSH
• mutace * MeSH
• Staphylococcus aureus růst a vývoj   virologie   MeSH
• zastoupení bazí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• methicilin MeSH

Staphylococcus aureus may be a highly virulent human pathogen, especially when it is able to form a biofilm, and it is resistant to antibiotic. Infections caused by these bacteria significantly affect morbidity and mortality, primarily in hospitalized patients. Treatment becomes more expensive, more toxic, and prolonged. This is the reason why research on alternative therapies should be one of the main priorities of medicine and biotechnology. A promising alternative treatment approach is bacteriophage therapy. The effect of the anti-staphylococcal bacteriophage preparation Stafal® on biofilm reduction was assessed on nine S. aureus strains using both sonication with subsequent quantification of surviving cells on the catheter surface and evaluation of biofilm reduction in microtiter plates. It was demonstrated that the bacteriophages destroy planktonic cells very effectively. However, to destroy cells embedded in the biofilm effectively requires a concentration at least ten times higher than that provided by the commercial preparation. The catheter disc method (CDM) allowed easier comparison of the effect on planktonic cells and cells in a biofilm than the microtiter plate (MTP) method.

• MeSH
• antiinfekční látky * MeSH
• bakteriologické techniky MeSH
• biofilmy * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus růst a vývoj   izolace a purifikace   virologie   MeSH
• mikrobiální viabilita MeSH
• počet mikrobiálních kolonií MeSH
• stafylokokové bakteriofágy fyziologie   MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Staphylococcus aureus růst a vývoj   izolace a purifikace   virologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antiinfekční látky * MeSH

Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bloodstream infections (BSI) and diseases that may be caused by hematogenous spread. The staphylococcal adhesin, for which the association with the infections emerging as a complication of septicemia has been well documented, is a bone sialoprotein-binding protein (Bbp). The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of a bbp gene in S. aureus bloodstream isolates associated with BSI and to investigate to what degree the distribution of this gene is linked to the clonality of the population. Spa typing, used in order to explore the genetic population structure of the isolates, yielded 29 types. Six spa clusters and seven singletons were identified. The most frequent was spa clonal complex CC021 associated with MLST CC30 (38%). The bbp gene was found in 47% of isolates. Almost all isolates (95%) clustered in spa clonal complex CC021 were positive for this gene. All isolates carrying the bbp gene were sensitive to methicillin, and if clustered in the spa CC021, belonged to agr group III. Our study shows that Bbp is not strictly associated with BSI. However, one may conclude that for clonally related S. aureus strains most commonly causing BSI, the risk of Bbp-mediated complications of septicemia is expected to be higher than for other strains.

• MeSH
• antibakteriální látky farmakologie   MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny genetika   MeSH
• krev mikrobiologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mikrobiální testy citlivosti MeSH
• multilokusová sekvenční typizace MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce krev   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Staphylococcus aureus účinky léků   genetika   izolace a purifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• transportní proteiny genetika   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• antibakteriální látky MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• bone sialoprotein-binding protein, Staphylococcus aureus MeSH Prohlížeč
• transportní proteiny MeSH

The emergence of spa types and spa-clonal complexes (CC) among clinical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates collected from the University Clinical Center in Gdańsk between 2008 and 2009 were investigated. Phage typing was used as the initial screening in the study. The basic set of phages and the additional set of phages were used. Most of the isolates (56 %) belonged to the phage group III. With the additional set of phages, eight types were found, with predominant one MR8 (50 %). Sixteen distinct spa types were observed. The most frequent were t003 (22 %), t151 (16 %), and t008 (12 %). The spa types were clustered into two spa-CC and eight singletons. The predominant CC010 (50 %) consisted of six types, with the most common t003 (36.7 %) and t151(26.7 %), and in 80 % was identified as staphylococcal chromosomal casette mec (SCCmec) type II. The second cluster has no founder (12 %) with only two spa types: t037 belonging to SCCmec type III and t029. In the most frequent singleton, spa type t008 alone was clustered in 12 % of the isolates. All singletons correspond to SCCmec type IV. The CC010 was distributed in most of the hospital wards, corresponded to Multilocus sequence typing type ST5/ST225 and was constantly present throughout the observed period. The isolates of CC010 generally belonged to the phage group III, and most of them (53.3 %) were resistant to erythromycin, clindamycin, and ciprofloxacin. The concordance between spa-clone and phage type was very high, but the same phage type MR8 was observed within different spa types of the predominant clone.

• MeSH
• fagotypizace * MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• genotyp MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• methicilin rezistentní Staphylococcus aureus klasifikace   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• molekulární typizace * MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• stafylokokové infekce mikrobiologie   MeSH
• vysokoškolská lékařská centra MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Polsko MeSH