Abstract
Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a very important hospital and community-acquired pathogen that
is prevalent in burn wounds, so finding the sources of contamination and infection with it are important
for its control. The aim of this study was to do SCCmec typing and determine the prevalence of pvl,
ACME, sea and seb genes among S. aureus isolates from burn patients.
Methods: Fifty S. aureus isolates were sampled from burn patients and were identified. These isolates
were typed based on SCCmec typing and detection of mecA and pvl genes using multiplex polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) method and also were screened for the presence of ACME, sea and seb genes by
PCR.
Results: Three isolates were identified as methicillin-resistant strains. The sea gene was identified in 22%
of isolates while pvl, ACME and seb genes were not found in the isolates. Multiplex PCR SCCmec typing
of 3 methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates showed that 2 isolates belong to SCCmec type II and
1 isolate to type I.
Conclusions: The results suggest that methicillin resistant S. aureus isolates are prevalent in burn patients
and mecA gene is involved in resistance to methicillin. These strains belonged to SCCmec type II and I
which can affect horizontal gene transfer among S. aureus isolates and hence distribution of virulence
genes. Therefore, it is necessary to frequently monitor S. aureus isolates through typing and screening
virulence genes to control this pathogen.