MLST analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates identified in a pediatric cohort in northwest Houston
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to identify S. aureus isolates among a pediatric outpatient population served by the Northwest Assistance Ministries clinic as a means of identifying unique clones using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). DNA was extracted from previously collected isolates and seven housekeeping genes were amplified and sequenced. It was hypothesized that due to the unique demographics of the population studied, there would be a high diversity of clones identified and unique strains would exist in the population. Current literature and results from this study found this to be true. 9 strains were identified in a sample of 20 patients and 5 were unique strains. Three of 4 pairs of siblings enrolled in the study were colonized with the same strain, and all cultures known to be MRSA were novel sequence strain F. These types of genetic analyses can help identify mechanisms associated with strain colonization and spread throughout respective communities.
Subject Area
Public health|Epidemiology
Recommended Citation
McHugh, Erin E, "MLST analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates identified in a pediatric cohort in northwest Houston" (2012). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1515599.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1515599