Determination of percentage of Staphylococcus aureus with Positive PVL encoding gene among patients and nurses in Hospital Sungai Buloh / Syahirah Samsudin

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) loading Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) has developed a worldwide threat to public health. Recent reports showed significant increasing numbers of S. aureus infections caused by PVL-positive organisms worldwide which explains the need to carry out this study in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to determine the percentage of PVL-positive S. aureus among patients and nurses in Hospital Sungai Buloh. Collectively, 315 swabs were collected from the anterior nares of inpatients and nurses at three wards (surgical, medical and gynaecological) of Hospital Sungai Buloh. The isolates were identified and characterised using conventional and molecular methods. From 315 nasal samples collected, 50.8% (160/315) were S. aureus isolates. The percentage of S. aureus nasal carrier among nurses was 43.3% (13/30) while among patients was 51.6% (147/285). All the S. aureus isolates were susceptible to teicoplanin, tigecyline and vancomycin. About 68.1% (109/160) of the S. aureus isolates carried in the nasal cavity of the patients and nurses were methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) and 31.9% (51/160) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Out of the 160 S. aureus isolates, seven (4.4%) were found to be PVL-positive S. aureus. A significant difference (P < 0.05) could be seen on the distribution of the PVL-positive S. aureus nasal carriers among different types of residence and monthly household income. The patients with a nasogastric intubation, fever past 2 weeks, runny nose, nose itching and longer hospital stay had a significantly high risk of being PVL nasal carriers. The phylogenetic analysis of all seven PVL isolates presented five patterns of isolates and they were distantly related. The finding of the percentage of PVL-positive S. aureus among patients and nurses will provide awareness to the hospital authority to take action for prevention and control.