High Prevalence of Biocide Resistance Determinants in Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Three African Countries.

We assessed the prevalence of six biocide resistance genes among 82 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 219 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates from three African countries; the prevalence was very high for sepA (95.3%), mepA (89.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the Community in Luanda, Angola: Blurred Boundaries with the Hospital Setting.

Although the nosocomial prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Angola is over 60% and one of the highest in Africa, the extent of MRSA in the community is unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted a hospital-based study in which 158 children attending the emergency ward and ambulatory services of a pediatric hospital in Luanda, the capital of Angola, were screened for S. aureus nasal colonization.

Frequent occurrence of oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus (OS-MRSA) strains in two African countries.

Background: Oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus (OS-MRSA) isolates have been increasingly reported worldwide, but data regarding the African continent have not been available.

Methods: Between 2010 and 2014, 1462 inpatients and healthcare workers were screened for MRSA nasal carriage in São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) and Angola, two Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP countries). We determined the presence of the mecA gene and the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of the isolates.

Epidemiology of methicillin-resistant and -susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in Luanda, Angola: first description of the spread of the MRSA ST5-IVa clone in the African continent.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major human pathogen worldwide, and although surveillance studies are available in the most developed countries, data from Angola are inexistent. In June 2012, 295 inpatients and 199 healthcare workers from three hospitals in Luanda, Angola were nasal swabbed for S. aureus and MRSA carriage.

Contamination of public buses with MRSA in Lisbon, Portugal: a possible transmission route of major MRSA clones within the community.

In a previous study we have shown that public buses in Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal, were highly contaminated with MRSA. Here we describe the results of a similar study performed in another urban area of Portugal-Lisbon, the capital. Between May 2011 and May 2012, hand touched surfaces of 199 public buses in Lisbon were screened for MRSA contamination.

Molecular characterization of antibiotic resistance in enterococci recovered from seagulls (Larus cachinnans) representing an environmental health problem.

Antimicrobial resistance and the mechanisms implicated were studied in 54 enterococci recovered from 57 seagull fecal samples. Almost 78% of the recovered enterococci showed resistance against one or more antibiotics and these isolates were identified to the species level. E.

Molecular detection and characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from dogs in Portugal.

Fifty-four healthy dogs were screened in Portugal for the presence of nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage. Sixteen MRSA isolates (one/sample) were recovered from nasal samples of dogs, and they were typed by molecular methods (S. aureus protein A [spa]-, multilocus sequence typing-, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec-typing).

Proteomic characterization of vanA-containing Enterococcus recovered from Seagulls at the Berlengas Natural Reserve, W Portugal.

Background: Enterococci have emerged as the third most common cause of nosocomial infections, requiring bactericidal antimicrobial therapy. Although vancomycin resistance is a major problem in clinics and has emerged in an important extend in farm animals, few studies have examined it in wild animals. To determine the prevalence of vanA-containing Enterococcus strains among faecal samples of Seagulls (Larus cachinnans) of Berlengas Natural Reserve of Portugal, we developed a proteomic approach integrated with genomic data.

Genetic characterization of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in Escherichia coli isolates of pigs from a Portuguese intensive swine farm.

There is a great concern by the emergence and the wide dissemination of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) among animal Escherichia coli isolates. We intended to determinate the carriage level and type of ESBLs in E. coli obtained from fecal samples from pigs raised on an intensive pig farm in Portugal; further to characterize other associated resistance genes and their plasmid content, the phylogenetic groups, and the clonal relationship of ESBL-positive isolates.

Genetic detection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-containing Escherichia coli isolates from birds of prey from Serra da Estrela Natural Reserve in Portugal.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-containing Escherichia coli isolates were detected in 32 of 119 fecal samples (26.9%) from birds of prey at Serra da Estrela, and these isolates contained the following beta-lactamases: CTX-M-1 (n = 13), CTX-M-1 plus TEM-1 (n = 14), CTX-M-1 plus TEM-20 (n = 1), SHV-5 (n = 1), SHV-5 plus TEM-1 (n = 2), and TEM-20 (n = 1).

Prevalence and mechanisms of erythromycin resistance in Streptococcus agalactiae from healthy pregnant women.

We sought to determine the resistance phenotypes for erythromycin and clindamycin and the mechanisms implicated in 93 Streptococcus agalactiae isolates recovered from healthy pregnant women. Susceptibility testing for erythromycin, clindamycin, penicillin, cefotaxime, vancomycin, quinupristin-dalfopristin, choramphenicol, ofloxacin, and meropenen was carried out by disc-diffusion test, and the E-test was also applied for erythromycin and clindamycin. The constitutive MLS(B) resistance (cMLS(B)) and inducible MLS(B) resistance (iMLS(B)) phenotypes, respectively, as well as the M resistance phenotype were determined by the erythromycin-clindamycin double-disc test.