The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular features and the antibiotic resistance profile of 98 clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates collected during 6 months in two hospitals of Kabul, Afghanistan. For all isolates, antimicrobial resistance patterns were determined by the disc diffusion method (including methicillin resistance which was detected using cefoxitin). The presence of the mecA/mecC genes was detected by PCR. Strains were then extensively characterized using microarray analysis. Of the 98 S. aureus isolates, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) prevalence was high at 66.3%. Antibiotic susceptibility testing also revealed a high resistance rate to penicillin (100%), erythromycin (66.3%), ciprofloxacin (55.1%), and cotrimoxazole (40.8%). Resistance to tobramycin was detected in 25.5%, to gentamicin in 16.3%, to chloramphenicol in 34.7%, and to doxycycline in 23.5% of the isolates. All the MRSA isolates were mecA-positive and none of them harbored mecC. Isolates were grouped into twelve clonal complexes and twenty-seven distinct clones. The most frequently detected clones were the Southwest Pacific clone (CC30-MRSA-IV PVL+) (21/65 MRSA, 32.3%), the CC22-MRSA-IV TSST-1+ clone (11/65 MRSA, 16.9%), and the Bengal Bay clone (ST772-MRSA-V PVL+) (11/65 MRSA, 16.9%). The PVL genes were found in 59.2% (46/65 MRSA and 12/33 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus, MSSA) and tst1 gene in 16.3% of isolates. This molecular study highlights the high prevalence of MRSA and the large genetic diversity of the S. aureus isolates circulating and detected in two hospitals of Kabul, with the presence of multiple virulence and antibiotic resistance genes.

本研究的目的是调查在 6 个月内在阿富汗喀布尔的两家医院收集的 98株临床金黄色葡萄球菌分离株的分子特征和抗生素耐药性。对于所有分离株，通过圆盘扩散法确定抗菌素耐药性模式（包括使用头孢西丁检测到的甲氧西林耐药性）。通过PCR检测mec A/ mec C基因的存在。然后使用微阵列分析广泛表征菌株。在 98 个金黄色葡萄球菌分离株中，耐甲氧西林的金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA) 患病率高达 66.3%。抗生素药敏试验还显示对青霉素 (100%)、红霉素 (66.3%)、环丙沙星 (55.1%) 和复方新诺明 (40.8%) 的耐药率很高。25.5% 的菌株检测到妥布霉素耐药，16.3% 的庆大霉素耐药，34.7% 的氯霉素耐药，23.5% 的多西环素耐药。所有 MRSA 分离株均为mec A 阳性，且无一株携带 mecC. 分离物被分成十二个克隆复合体和二十七个不同的克隆。最常检测到的克隆是西南太平洋克隆 (CC30-MRSA-IV PVL+)（21/65 MRSA，32.3%）、CC22-MRSA-IV TSST-1+ 克隆（11/65 MRSA，16.9%）和孟加拉湾克隆 (ST772-MRSA-V PVL+)（11/65 MRSA，16.9%）。PVL 基因在 59.2%（46/65 MRSA 和 12/33 甲氧西林敏感金黄色葡萄球菌，MSSA）和tst1基因中发现 16.3% 的分离株。这项分子研究强调了 MRSA 的高流行率和在喀布尔的两家医院中循环和检测到的金黄色葡萄球菌分离株的巨大遗传多样性，存在多种毒力和抗生素抗性基因。