Study the enterotoxigenixity of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the urine samples of pediatrics with UTIs

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen associated with urinary tract infections in a variety of hosts including humans. It produces several toxins and virulence factors that contribute to its pathogenic potential such as staphylococcal enterotoxins. This study was conducted to determine enterotoxigenicity of S. aureus associated with UTIs in pediatrics patients. One-hundred and seventy two urine samples were collected from pediatrics suffered from UTIs. Samples were cultured immediately and those that were S. aureus-positive were analyzed for the presence of sea, seb, sec, sed and see enterotoxins using PCR. Fifty three out of 172 urine samples were positive for S. aureus (30.81%). The prevalence of S. aureus in boy and girl patients were 21.25% and 39.13%, respectively (P < 0.05). The most commonly detected enterotoxigenic genes in the S. aureus isolates of pediatric patients were sec (41.50%), sea (18.86%), see (15.09%) and sed (13.20%). There was significant difference between the prevalence of enterotoxigenic genes and sex of pediatric patients (P < 0.035). The role of enterotoxin genes in the pathogenesis of UTIs is still unknown. Other newly detected genes may play a role in pathogenesis of diseases. Therefore, further studies should be conducted to demonstrate the role of enterotoxins of S. aureus in the cases of UTIs.