Spectrum of Virulence Factors in Clinical Isolates of and Prevalence of SCCmec Types in Methicillin-Resistant in a Tertiary Care Center.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) is a widely recognized multidrug-resistant bacteria presenting a major therapeutic challenge to clinicians. possesses a number of pathogenicity factors that attribute to the severity of infections. This study was undertaken to investigate the common virulence genes in clinical isolates of , determine their antimicrobial susceptibility profile, and to characterize the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types among MRSA in a tertiary care center.  A total of 133 clinical isolates were included in this study. Susceptibility to various antibiotics was determined by disc diffusion method. Methicillin resistance was screened using cefoxitin disc; m and genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR was done to detect 12 virulence factors such as , , , , , , , , , , and . SCCmec typing was done by multiplex PCR.  Of the 133 clinical isolates, 54 (40.6%) were MRSA. The most common virulence gene detected was (61.6%), (39%), and (37%). SCCmec type I was the most predominant. Mortality rate of 6.7% was observed among patients with staphylococcal infections. Univariate analysis of mortality associated virulence genes did not reveal any significant association between virulence genes and mortality.  The distribution of virulence genes is similar in both MRSA and methicillin-sensitive . MRSA belongs to the SCCmec types I to IV. Possession of multiple virulence factors and multidrug resistance profile makes a formidable pathogen in clinical settings.