Detection of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) Genes within CA-MRSA Carriers of the Oral Roberts University Community

Abstract

Over the years, the misuse of antibiotics has become a significant factor in the emergence of resistant bacteria. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is staphylococci that are resistant to Beta-lactam drugs. There are two types of MRSA infections: community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) and hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA). They can be differentiated by the presence of the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) gene in the CA-MRSA strain. Studies have shown that CA-MRSA is more virulent than HA-MRSA. The aim of this study is to determine the population of students at Oral Roberts University who are carriers of CA-MRSA. This was done by obtaining nasal swabs from 50 students and performing coagulase and antibiotic susceptibility tests to identify the samples that contained MRSA. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was then used to detect the presence of PVL genes in the positive samples using lukS-PV, hlg-1 and Sa16 primers. Results showed that 18.0% of the student nasal samples contained MRSA. Of those samples 6.0% were CA-MRSA. ©2014 Oklahoma Academy of Science