Genomic analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bacteremia reveals genetic features associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004224016274?via%3Dihub

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110402
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/32993

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UMBC Faculty Collection
UMBC Biological Sciences Department
UMBC Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7280-7191

Date

2024-07-12

Type of Work

journal articles
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Citation of Original Publication

Sánchez-Osuna, Miquel, Marc Pedrosa, Paula Bierge, Inmaculada Gómez-Sánchez, Marina Alguacil-Guillén, Mateu Espasa, Ivan Erill, Oriol Gasch, and Oscar Q. Pich. “Genomic Analysis of Staphylococcus Aureus Isolates from Bacteremia Reveals Genetic Features Associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic.” IScience 27, no. 8 (August 16, 2024): 110402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.110402.

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CC BY-NC 4.0 Deed Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Subjects

Abstract

Genomic analyses of bacterial isolates are effective to compare the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence determinants in different contexts. This study provides a comprehensive genomic description of 339 Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients with bacteremia (2014–2022). Nosocomial acquisition accounted for 56.6% of cases, with vascular catheters being the main infection source (31.8%). Fatality (27.4%), persistent bacteremia (19.5%), and septic emboli (24.2%) were documented. During the COVID-19 pandemic, S. aureus bacteremia episodes increased by 140%. Genetic features in pandemic isolates revealed higher prevalence of methicillin (mecA) and macrolide (msrA and mphC) resistance genes. Additionally, genes encoding clumping factors A and B, involved in fibrinogen binding, were more prevalent. This was linked to extensive macrolide use in COVID-19 accessory therapy and elevated fibrinogen levels in SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings highlight S. aureus adaptation to COVID-19 selective pressures and the value of whole-genome sequencing in molecular epidemiology studies.