Drug Resistance

University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics reports research in drug resistance

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"In total, 180 blood culture isolates (95 contaminants and 85 invasive isolates) obtained from a single neonatal unit over a 12-year period were studied. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) identified 87 persistent CoNS strains (endemic clones). The two largest PFGE clusters belonged to a single clonal complex according to multilocus sequence typing. Patients colonised or infected with endemic clones were of lower gestational age than those infected with non-cluster strains. One Staphylococcus haemolyticus cluster appeared to selectively colonise and infect the most extreme pre-term infants. Endemic clones were characterised by high levels of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. All 51 isolates belonging to the two largest PFGE clusters were ica operon-positive. Genes encoding Staphylococcus epidermidis surface protein B and the production of phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs) were also more prevalent among endemic clones than among non-cluster strains. However, endemic clones were not more prevalent among invasive isolates than among contaminants. These findings indicate that multiple selective factors, including antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, surface proteins with adhesive properties, and PSMs regulated by agr, increase the ability of CoNS to persist in a hospital environment," wrote C. Klingenberg and colleagues, University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics.

The researchers concluded: "It may be more prudent, when searching for new therapeutic targets, to focus on ubiquitous components of CoNS instead of putative virulence factors that do not clearly contribute to increased invasive capacity."

Klingenberg and colleagues published their study in Clinical Microbiology and Infection (Persistent strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci in a neonatal intensive care unit: virulence factors and invasiveness. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2007;13(11):1100-11).

For additional information, contact C. Klingenberg, University Hospital of North Norway, Dept. of Paediatrics, Tromso, Norway.

The publisher's contact information for the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection is: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 9600 Garsington Rd., Oxford OX4 2DG, Oxon, England.

Keywords: Norway, Antimicrobial Resistance, Clinical Microbiology, Drug Resistance, Therapy, Treatment.

This article was prepared by Biotech Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Biotech Business Week via NewsRx.com.