Speciation of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci Isolated from Ecuadorian Hospitals and Communities

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that commonly causes infections in the human population. Many patients' prognoses are worsened because some strains have acquired antibiotic resistance. Surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus previously focused on the well characterized aureus species (MRSA). Community and hospital samples collected from various regions of Ecuador from 2010-2012 revealed the majority of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (MRS) are not of the aureus species. The purpose of this study was to test a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) protocol to identify the species of Staphylococcus that are resistant to methicillin.