Distribution of Staphylococcus sciuri subspecies among human clinical specimens, and profile of antibiotic resistance

The distribution of three subspecies comprising Staphylococcus sciuri was d etermined for a collection of 30 clinical isolates originating from Morocco , the United Kingdom, and France. The sources of these isolates were princi pally wounds, skin, and soft tissue infections. At the species level, the i solates were identified according to biochemical characteristics and at the subspecies level by the ribotyping technique. PCR analysis performed with the 16S-23S ribosomal DNA intergenic spacer was less powerful for subspecie s differentiation. S. sciuri subsp. sciuri was the most frequent subspecies (21 isolates) found in the collection, whereas S. sciuri subsp. rodentium (seven isolates) and S. sciuri subsp. carnaticus (two isolates) were less c ommon. mecA or a mecA-related gene was detected by PCR and Southern blot in all 30 S. sciuri isolates, supporting the suggestion that S. sciuri specie s are the natural reservoir of the mecA gene. While the linA/linA' gene cod ing for Lincomycin resistance was present in five isolates, an uncharacteri zed gene for this resistance was suspected in seventeen other isolates. (C) Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.