Evaluación de la frecuencia del gen mecA de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina (MRSA) en muestras de hisopado cutáneo y nasal de equinos de la provincia del Azuay mediante la técnica de LAMP

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram positive bacteria of global relevance, it’s highly disseminated and signifies an elevated risk for hospitals and communities since it is one of the main etiological agents for bacteremia’s, surgical wound infections, skin infections, infectious endocarditis and abscesses. This bacterium can be found in skin samples, with the same frequency in animals as in humans as a saprophyte microorganism. One of the individualizing qualities of the pathogen is the codification of the mecA gene, which allows the bacteria to acquire resistance against Methicillin and most B-lactam antibiotics. Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is currently recognized as one of the most studied pathogens due to its high resistance to the majority of commonly used antibiotics. Equids are common carriers of the bacteria, henceforth its identification from cutaneous and nasal swabs will denote further information which will help the Ecuadorian medical community in the diagnostics of the mentioned pathogen. The objective of this study was to utilize the LAMP technique to evaluate the frequency of the mecA gene in samples from 60 horses between 5 and 13 years old in two different geographical locations of the Azuay province, corresponding to Tarqui and Paute. We obtained significant differences between the parameters of presence or absence of S. aureus but not between the type of sample collection method or geographical location, meaning the bacteria was found regardless of location or collection method. Regarding MRSA, we were unable to detect genetic material that corresponded to the gen mecA, this finding allows us to rule out the presence of MRSA in healthy horses of the areas of interest.