Prevalence of atlE, ica, mecA, and mupA Genes in Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolates

Abstract

Background Coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS) bacteria, particularly Staphylococcus epidermidis , are one of the major causes of nosocomial infections. This study evaluated the prevalence of atlE , ica , mecA , and mupA genes in S. epidermidis isolates. Methods Two hundred thirty samples were collected from 2 hospitals (Ali Asghar and Hazrat Rasoul) in Tehran, Iran. One hundred twenty-three (53%) of isolates were identified as S. epidermidis . These isolates were tested for prevalence of atlE , ica , mecA , and mupA genes by using multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Results The prevalence of atlE , ica , mecA , and mupA were 94%, 78%, 76%, and 30% for clinical, 90%, 28%, 51%, and 13% for flora, and 94%, 29%, 51%, and 3% for environmental isolates, respectively. Conclusions Multiplex polymerase chain reaction revealed that occurrence of atlE , ica , mecA , and mupA in our isolates was relatively high. The growing problem of staphylococci especially S. epidermidis in Iran requires further cautious surveillance.