Screening of mecC Gene in Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates

Objective: The diagnosis and treatment of mecC positive methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates pose a significant problem in clinical microbiology and infectious disease practices. The studies on the frequency of mecC positive isolates in Turkey is rather scarce. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the presence of mecA, mecC, spa and pvu genes in MRSA strains isolated from various clinical specimens submitted to Clinical Microbiology Laboratories of Bezmialem Vakif Hospital. Methods: We performed nucleic acid extraction and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to 126 MRSA strains to detect mecC, mecA, spa and pvl genes. Results: According to the multiplex PCR results of 126 MRSA strains studied, 126 (100%) had mecA, 107 (85%) had spa, and 3 (2%) had pvl genes. We performed another polymerase chain reaction protocol and spa genes were identified in 19 of specimens, which were found negative priorly. Conclusion: Considering the factors that a university medical center where the study was conducted provided a tertiary healthcare service to a large metropolitan area in Istanbul and none of the isolates carried mecC gene might indicate that mecC gene carrying MRSA isolates did not pose a significant public health threat in Turkey.