Clonal structure of Staphylococcus aureus colonizing children with sickle cell anaemia and healthy controls

• Published in: Epidemiology and infection Vol. 141; no. 8; pp. 1717 - 1720
• Main Authors: SCHAUMBURG, F., BIALLAS, B., ALABI, A. S., GROBUSCH, M. P., FEUGAP, E. N., LELL, B., MELLMANN, A., PETERS, G., KREMSNER, P. G., BECKER, K., ADEGNIKA, A. A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-08-2013
• Subjects: Anemia, Sickle Cell - complications; Anemia, Sickle Cell - epidemiology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Bacterial Toxins - genetics; Bacterial Toxins - metabolism; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Exotoxins - genetics; Exotoxins - metabolism; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gabon - epidemiology; Humans; Leukocidins - genetics; Leukocidins - metabolism; Male; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Multilocus Sequence Typing; Patients; Pneumococci, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, and Staphylococci; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Risk Factors; Short Report; Sickle cell anemia; Staphylococcal Infections - complications; Staphylococcal Infections - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Protein A - genetics; Staphylococcal Protein A - metabolism; Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism; Staphylococcus infections; Gabon; United States > US; Staphylococcus aureus; Bacterial typing; surveillance; Human; Hemoglobinopathy; Hemolytic anemia; Sickle cell anemia; Bacteria; Micrococcales; Hemopathy; Micrococcaceae; Child; Epidemiology; Genetic disease
• ISSN: 0950-2688; 1469-4409
• DOI: 10.1017/S0950268812002270

Children with sickle cell anaemia (SCA) might carry hospital-associated bacterial lineages due to frequent hospital stays and antibiotic treatments. In this study we compared Staphylococcus aureus from SCA patients (n = 73) and healthy children (n = 143) in a cross-sectional study in Gabon. S. aureus carriage did not differ between children with SCA (n = 34, 46·6%) and controls matched for age, residence and sex (n = 67, 46·9%). Both groups shared similar S. aureus genotypes. This finding points towards a transmission of S. aureus between both groups in the community. We conclude that resistance rates from population-based studies with healthy participants could therefore also be used to guide treatment and prophylaxis of endogenous infections in children with SCA despite a different selection pressure.