Frequent MRSA nasal colonization among hospitalized children and their parents in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe

S. Rodrigues, T. Conceição, I. Santos Silva, H. de Lencastre, M. Aires-de-Sousa

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7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of nosocomial meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was previously estimated as 23% in a paediatric hospital in Luanda, Angola and 18% in a general hospital in São Tomé and Príncipe. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of S. aureus/MRSA colonization among hospitalized children and their parents at two hospitals in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe. Methods: In 2017, 127 hospitalized children and 129 of their parents had nasal swabs for S. aureus/MRSA carriage in the two countries. The isolates were tested for the presence of the mecA and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes, and characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), spa typing, multi-locus sequence typing and SCCmec typing. Findings: Twenty of 127 children (15.7%) and 13 of 129 parents (10.1%) were MRSA nasal carriers. Three lineages comprised 88% of the MRSA isolates: (i) PFGE A-ST5-SCCmec IVa (N=15; 45%), associated with spa type t105, recovered in Angola alone; (ii) PFGE N-ST8-IV/V (N=7; 21%), associated with spa types t008/t121, recovered in São Tomé and Príncipe alone; and (iii) PFGE B-ST88-IVa (N=7; 21%), associated with spa types t325/t786, present in both countries. Fifteen child/guardian pairs were colonized with identical MRSA (N=8) or meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (N=7) strains. PVL was detected in 25% of isolates, including two MRSA (ST30-V and ST8-IVa). Conclusion: Hospitalized children and their parents are important reservoirs of MRSA. Infection control measures should focus on parents in order to minimize the spread of MRSA to the community.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)344-349
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Hospital Infection
Volume100
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Africa
  • Angola
  • Children
  • MRSA
  • Nasal carriage
  • Parents
  • São Tomé and Príncipe

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