Frequency of the toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 gene in methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from teaching hospitals in Shiraz, Iran

• Main Authors: Mohammad Motamedifar, Hadi Sedigh Ebrahim-Saraie, Seyedeh Mahsan Hoseini Alfatemi, Mehrdad Zalipour, Mohammad Kaveh, Hossein Khoshkharam-Roodmajani
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2015-02-01
• Series: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Subjects: Toxic shock syndrome toxin-1; Staphylococcus aureus; Iran
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0037-86822015000100090&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 1678-9849

INTRODUCTION: Staphylococcus aureus produces a range of virulence factors such as toxic shock syndrome toxin-1. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study of 345 clinical S. aureus isolates, the presence of the tst gene was assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The study revealed 53/345 (15.4%) isolates were positive for the tst gene. The tst gene was present in 18.1% of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolates and 11.6% of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates (p = 0.136). CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal the remarkable risk of S. aureus infections in hospitals, regardless of methicillin-resistance status.