Investigation of biofilm formation in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus associated with bacteraemia in a tertiary hospital

Biofilm formation is an important physiological process in Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) that can cause infections in humans. In this study, the ability of 36 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates to form biofilm was studied based on genotypic and phenotypic approaches. These isolates were genotyped based on the microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs) and biofilm-associated genes (icaAD) via polymerase chain reactions. Phenotyping was performed based on the determination of the strength of biofilm formation of MRSA isolates in vitro. The most prevalent MSCRAMMs and biofilm-associated genes were clfA, eno, and icaD, followed by clfB. The fnbB (38.9%) and ebpS (11.1%) occurred less frequently among the MRSA isolates, while bbp and fnbA genes were absent from all isolates. The MRSA isolates were mostly moderate to strong biofilm formers, despite the heterogeneity of the MSCRAMM profiles. MRSA isolates from different infection sources (primary, catheter-related bloodstream, or secondary infections) were capable of forming strong biofilms. However, persistent bacteraemia was observed only in 19.4% of the MRSA-infected individuals. This study suggested that persistent MRSA bacteraemia in patients might not be associated with the biofilm-forming ability of the isolates.