strains associated with invasive and non-invasive infections present possible links with types and superantigens.

Objectives: , a notorious human pathogen is responsible to cause a wide range of infections varies from superficial common clinical illness to severe and life threatening infections. To our knowledge this is the first report exploring the types and superantigen/exotoxin gene profile of from Pakistan.

Materials And Methods: A total of 89 strains were collected predominantly from throat swabs followed by pus, tissues and wound swabs. Profile of five superantigen genes speA, speB, speC, speF and ssa was screened for all the types.

Results: Extensive heterogeneity among strains was indicated, revealing 34 different types/ subtypes. The most prevalent types were and . Some of the types were exclusively isolated from invasive infections while others were isolated only from non-invasive infections indicating the possible link between types and invasive/ noninvasive infections. Similarly, erythromycin-resistant strains mainly belonged to three particular types. Multiplex PCR analysis indicated the presence of speB 100%, speF 76%, speC 20%, speA 18% and ssa 15%. Interestingly, superantigen genes speC and speA were mainly associated with invasive infections. Among the five superantigens tested, one strain of harbored all the analyzed exotoxin genes, while 4 strains carried 4 superantigen genes.

Conclusion: clones associated with invasive and non-invasive infections in Pakistan present differences in types, superantigens and antimicrobial resistance. The present data indicates the possible link between particular genetic lineage of a bacterium with the manifestation of the infection.