Osong Public Health Res Perspect.
2011 Dec;2(3):202-209. 10.1016/j.phrp.2011.11.047.
A diversity of Antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus spp. in a Public Transportation System
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
- 2Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- 3Department of Biology, University of Nebraska-Kearney, Kearney, Nebraska, USA.
- 4Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California, USA.
- KMID: 2517988
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.phrp.2011.11.047
Abstract
Objectives
Our goal was to determine the diversity and abundance of Staphylococcus bacteria on different components of a public transportation system in a mid-sized US city (Portland, Oregon) and to examine the level of drug resistance in these bacteria.
Methods
We collected 70 samples from 2 cm × 4 cm sections from seven different areas on buses and trains in Portland, USA, taking 10 samples from each area. We isolated a subset of 14 suspected Staphylococcus spp. colonies based on phenotype, and constructed a phylogeny from16S rRNA sequences to assist in identification. We used the Kirbye–Bauer disk diffusion method to determine resistance levels to six common antibiotics.
Results
We found a range of pathogenic Staphylococcus species. The mean bacterial colony counts were 97.1 on bus and train floors, 80.1 in cloth seats, 9.5 on handrails, 8.6 on seats and armrests at bus stops, 3.8 on the underside of seats, 2.2 on windows, and 1.8 on vinyl seats per 8 cm2 sample area. These differences were significant (p < 0.001). Of the 14 isolates sequenced, 11 were staphylococci, and of these, five were resistant to penicillin and ampicillin, while only two displayed intermediate resistance to bacitracin. All 11 isolates were sensitive to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, and tetracycline.
Conclusions
We found six different strains of Staphylococcus, and while there were varying levels of drug resistance, we did not find extensive levels of multidrug-resistant bacteria, and no S. aureus was found. We found floors and cloth seats to be areas on buses and trains that showed particularly high levels of bacteria.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- A Diversity of Antibiotic-resistant
Staphylococcus spp. in a Public Transportation System [Volume 2, Issue 3, December 2011, Pages 158 - 163] - Multiplex Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based Method for the Rapid Detection of
gyrA andparC Mutations in Quinolone-ResistantEscherichia coli andShigella spp. - Profiling Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance Markers of Enterovirulent
Escherichia Coli from Fecal Isolates of Adult Patients with Enteric Infections in West Cameroon - Health Problems Among Workers Who Recycle Electronic Waste in Southern Thailand
- Rapid Molecular Approach for Simultaneous Detection of
Salmonella spp.,Shigella spp., andVibrio cholera
- A Diversity of Antibiotic-resistant
