Validation of a Multiplex PCR for the Identification of Methicillin Resistant S.aureus from Uncultured Clinical Specimens

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become endemic in many countries including India. It is a dangerous pathogen and often challenges the management of hospital acquired infections. We demonstrate that a multiplex PCR targeting nuc, mecA and 16s rRNA is accurate and reliable for the identification of MRSA, with a simple sample processing protocol for PCR based diagnosis of MRSA directly in a variety of uncultured clinical samples. The PCR results were quite comparable to the clinical microbiology results. This study demonstrates the usefulness of a simple sample processing protocol and a multiplex PCR method for rapid and reliable detection of MRSA from uncultured clinical specimen. Though several commercial kits are available for the direct detection of MRSA from swabs, it is probably the first time to the best of our knowledge that a multiplex PCR has been designed and demonstrated to identify MRSA from varied uncultured clinical samples including pus, blood, urine, respiratory samples, drain fluids etc.