Identification of Panton-Valentine leukocidin virulence gene in methicillin—resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical specimens of burn patients in Zare Hospitals of Sari, Iran

Objective: To identify the pathogenic gene of Panton-Valentine leukocidin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated from clinical specimens of burn patients in Shaheed Zare Burn Hospital. Methods: A total of 104 samples of Staphylococcus were collected and 78 aureus samples were isolated from Zare Hospital patients from November 2016 to July 2017. All isolates were identified using a standard biochemical and laboratory methodology in accordance with CLSI principles, and disk agar diffusion antibiogram were performed to identify methicillin resistant colonies. Then the presence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene was tested by PCR. Results: Of the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus samples, 80% were negative for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene, and only 20% of the samples had Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. Male and female patients showed no significant difference in the positivity rate of Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene (16.12% vs. 33.33%) (P=0.25). Besides, there was no significant difference in bacterial resistance or susceptibility to antibiotics between samples with or without the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. Conclusions: In recent years, increased resistance has been a serious threat. The resistance or susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus strains to different antibiotics is different in different geographical locations.