Journal of Advanced Biomedical Sciences

Background & Objective: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequently opportunistic pathogens isolated from nosocomial infections, responsible for severe infections such as bacteremia, endocarditis, and skin infections. Surface proteins such as fibrinogen and fibronectin-binding proteins are important factors in adhesion and invasion of S. aureus. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the presence of genes clfA, clfB, fnbA, and fnbB in isolates of S. aureus collected from clinical specimens of hospitalized patients in Hospitals of Zabol -Iran.

Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 100 S. aureus isolates were collected from January to August 2013 from hospitalized patients at zabol-Iran. The isolates were confirmed by conventional biochemical tests. DNA of all isolates was extracted by boiling method. Multiplex PCR was used to identify the presence of virulence genes. The data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test.

Results: The results of this study showed that 50% of isolates possess at least one of the studied genes. The frequency of genes encoding fibrinogen (clfA, clfB) and fibronectin (fnbA, fnbB) were 19%, 16% and 25%, 19% respectively.

Conclusion: This study showed that the studied genes are found in small percentage of isolates. Further investigations on these genes are needed to clarify their role in the pathogenesis of S. aureus infections.