Towards Understanding the Clonality of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Sokoto State Nigeria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Shuaibu Adeiza Shuaibu ¹
• Josiah Ademola Onaolapo ²
• Busayo Olalekan Olayinka ³

¹ Department of Pharmaceutical microbiology Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria

² Department of Pharmaceutical microbiology, Ahmadu Bello university Zaria, Nigeria

³ Department of Pharmaceutical microbiology Ahmadu Bello University Zaria

Abstract

Introduction: The epidemiology of MRSA strains is constantly changing and the potential utility of genomic surveillance in defining its population structure and outbreaks of possible high-risk lineages in Sokoto state cannot be overstated. This study brings to light the various clones, spa-types, sequence types (ST) and the resultant clonal complexes (CC) of MRSA strains in Sokoto state as a step towards an all-inclusive MRSA surveillance system. Methods: Phenotypic determination of the presence of MRSA was carried out by subjecting the isolates to Oxacillin resistance screening agar base test (ORSAB). The PCR products (mecA and spa) where electrophoresed on 1.5% agarose gel and the spa positive isolates were sequenced and analyzed. Based upon repeat pattern (BURP) algorithm was used to compute spa clonal complexes (spa-CCs) Results: In this study, analysis of 16 MRSA strains revealed 10 different spa-types, varying in length between 1 (t267, t021), 2 (t044, t127) and 4 (t1839, t202) repeats, which were clustered into 2 different groups and 2 singletons. The MLST mapping of the spa types of 16 MRSA isolates revealed seven different sequence types (ST-1, ST-9, ST-55, ST-93, ST-97, ST-80 and ST-463) clustered into spa-CC 07and spa-CC 003. Conclusion: The present study provides an understanding of the MRSA clonal population in Sokoto, revealing the 10 different spa-types in circulation and providing awareness of the proliferation of spa-types t091 and t044. Genetic Surveillance for these clones needs to be coordinated nationally and locally because successful clones are not confined by state or country boundaries.

Keywords

• Spa-Types
• Clonal Complexes
• Sequence Types
• MRSA
• Sokoto

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