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Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from human milk samples in Brazil

  • Clinical Microbiology - Short Communication
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Abstract

Human milk is the best nutrient for infants. The donor human milk is stored in a milk bank before pasteurization. However, the human milk is not sterile and could be colonized with different types of bacteria. Many studies have shown S. aureus to be the most prevalent potential pathogen detected in human milk. This study characterized 22 methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from raw human milk for the presence of virulence genes and agr type. Moreover, the genotypic as identified characterization was realized. The presence of virulence genes sei, seg, sec, seh, and etb was identified in resistant and sensitive strains. We observed the predominance of agr type II. The presence of SCCmec IV (67%, 4/6) and V (33%, 2/6) characterized resistant strains as CA-MRSA. Endemic lineages detected (ST1635/CC5-t002, ST5/CC5-t002, ST72/CC5-t126, ST1/CC1-t127, ST45/CC45-t065, and ST398/t1451) could be related to epidemic clones, such as USA800/ST5, USA700/ST72, USA400/ST1, USA600/ST45, and ST398. This study made it possible to understand the characteristics of virulence and clonality of some strains that circulate in breast milk in our region. The discovery of human milk colonization by MSSA and MRSA strains with molecular characteristics similar to infectious clones spread globally demonstrates the importance of monitoring strains that can spread and cause serious infections.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Human Milk Bank of Esau Matos Municipal Hospital, for allowing this study and AcademicEnglishSolutions.com for proofreading.

Funding

This study was supported by Programa de apoio a pesquisadores emergentes da UFBA (UFBA/PRODOC 02/2011) and financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Brasil (CAPES) - Finance code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade,, Ilhéus, Brazil

    Jéssica Bomfim de Almeida, Suzi Pacheco de Carvalho & Lucas M. Marques

  2. Instituto Multidisciplinar de Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Rua Rio de Contas, 58 - Quadra 17 - Lote 58, Bairro Candeias, CEP: 45, Vitória da Conquista, BA, 029-094, Brazil

    Jéssica Bomfim de Almeida, Lucas S. C. da Silva, Yasmin M. F. S. Andrade & Lucas M. Marques

  3. Instituto de Microbiologia Paulo de Góes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Raiane Cardoso Chamon & Kátia Regina Netto dos Santos

  4. Centro de Ciências Médicas, Faculdade de Medicina Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Raiane Cardoso Chamon

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  1. Jéssica Bomfim de Almeida
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Correspondence to Lucas M. Marques.

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Responsible Editor: Ana Lucia da Costa Darini.

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de Almeida, J.B., de Carvalho, S.P., da Silva, L.S.C. et al. Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from human milk samples in Brazil. Braz J Microbiol 51, 1813–1817 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-020-00367-1

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