Abstract
The control of healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is of concern worldwide. Given the evidence that several pathogenic species replicate within amoebae and emerge more virulent and more resistant and the abundance of amoebae in healthcare settings, we investigated interactions of Acanthamoeba polyphaga with epidemic MRSA isolates. MRSA proliferated in the presence of amoebae, attributable partly to intracellular replication. Following 24 h of co-culture, confocal microscopy revealed that c. 50% amoebae had viable MRSA within phago-lysosomes and 2% of amoebae were heavily infected with viable cocci throughout the cytoplasm. Infection control strategies should recognize the contribution of protozoa.Citation
Environmental Microbiology, 8(6): 1130-1133Publisher
Wiley InterSciencePubMed ID
16689734Additional Links
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118567427/abstractType
Journal articleLanguage
enISSN
1462-2912ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1111/j.1462-2920.2006.00991.x