Antimicrobial resistance and presence of ileS-2 gene encoding mupirocin resistance in clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus sp.

Seventy-eight staphylococcal strains were isolated from surgical-site, blood-stream and other hospital-acquired infections. Eighteen isolates were determined as methicillin (MET)-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), while the remaining were MET-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). Fifty percent of CoNS strains were multiresistant, while 10 % of isolates were resistant only to beta-lactams. Clinical isolates of CoNS were generally more resistant to antimicrobial agents than S. aureus strains. Thirty-nine % of S. aureus strains were resistant only to beta-lactams. None of the MRSA strains carried ileS-2 gene; this gene was found in two strains of S. epidermidis.