First Report on mecC- positive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains in the Sudan

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been reported in many countries as a cause of human infections acquired in hospitals and in the community as well as a cause of animal infections; however, little is known about it in the Sudan, especially in animals and animal products. This study aimed mainly at investigating MRSA in liver abscesses of sheep, as many Sudanese consume raw livers. Intact liver abscesses were collected from sheep slaughtered in 3 abattoirs in Khartoum State and subjected to bacteriological culture for isolation and further molecular characterization of S. aureus. Out of 100 liver abscesses, only 4 S. aureus isolates were obtained, all of which were resistant to methicillin by the disc diffusion method, but the methicillin resistance gene (mecA) was detected in only one of them. When these isolates were tested with primers for the mecA gene novel analogue (mecC), 3 of them were positive, including the mecA positive one. PCR for amplification of haemolysin (hlg), Panton-Valentine lecukocidin (pvl) and toxic shock syndrome toxin (tsst) genes showed that one mecC- positive isolate was also positive for pvl, but neither hlg nor tsst was detected in any of these isolates. The results of this study are of public health importance because of the potential zoonotic transmission of mecC- positive S. aureus strains. Furthermore, this is the first report of mecC- positive MRSA strains in the Sudan.