Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C in Healthy Malaysian Adults: A Preliminary Report

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Toxin gene profiling of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolated from a Malaysian teaching hospital

Entero- and exfoliative toxin gene profiling of 237 methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) were carried out via PCR amplification. Among the tested toxin genes, sei was found to be the most prevalent (54.9%)

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal replacement in a Malaysian teaching hospital: findings from an eight-year interval molecular surveillance

Periodical surveillance on nosocomial pathogens is important for antimicrobial stewardship and infection control. The first methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) molecular surveillance in Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), a Malaysian teaching hospital, was performed in 2009. The dominant clone was identified as an MRSA carrying SCCmec type III-SCCmercury with ccrC and sea+cna toxin genes. In this study, we report the findings of the second HCTM MRSA surveillance carried out in 2017, after an interval of 8 years. Antibiotic susceptibility testing, SCCmec, toxin gene, and spa typing were performed for 222 MRSA strains isolated in 2017. Most strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cefoxitin, and penicillin (n = 126, 56.8%), belong to SCCmec type IV (n = 205, 92.3%), spa type t032 (n = 160, 72.1%) and harboured seg+sei toxin genes (n = 172, 77.5%). There was significant association between resistance of the aforementioned antibiotics with SCCmec type IV (p < 0.05), t032 (p < 0.001), and seg+sei carriage (p < 0.05). Results from this second MRSA surveillance revealed the occurrence of clonal replacement in HCTM during an interval of not more than 8 years. Investigation of the corresponding phenotype changes in this new dominant MRSA clone is currently on-going