Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Microbiology 2008-3289 10 1 2018 02 26 7 13 EN Ehsanollah Ghaznavi-Rad Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran AND Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran Nasimeh Fard-Mousavi Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran Ali Shahsavari Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran Ali Japoni-Nejad Molecular and Medicine Research Center, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran Alex Van Belkum Scientific Office, BioMérieux, Route de Port Michaud, La Balme Les Grottes 38390, France; Erasmus MC, Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 's Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2016 12 19 2017 08 11 Background and Objectives: Methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CoNS) are important nosocomial pathogens. They may serve as a reservoir of SCCmec, the genomic island encoding amongst other methicillin resistance. This study was designed to determine the distribution of different SCCmec types from MR-CoNS isolated from clinical specimens in a tertiary hospital in central Iran, having high frequency of nosocomial methicillin-resistant staphylococcal infections. Materials and Methods: We evaluated isolates from patients attending the Vali-Asr Hospital located in the center of Iran, from February to December 2012. Multiplex PCR was performed for SCCmec typing. For isolates in which SCCmec could not be typed directly, additional ccr and mec complex analyses were performed. Results: Totally, 70 MR-CoNS isolates, comprising of 47 S. epidermidis strains (67%), 10 S. saprophyticus (14.3%), 9 S. hemolyticus (13%) and 4 S. lugdunensis (5.7%) were identified. Thirty-nine were characterized as type IVa 19 (27%), type III 11 (16%), type II 7 (10%) and type V 2 (3%). Only 20 isolates (28.6%) carried the ccr complex, while the current methods could not characterize the 11 remaining isolates. Conclusion: A high level of SCCmec genetic diversity was found among MR-CoNS isolates. MR-CoNS may act as a reservoir of SCCmec IV for MRSA. This issue should be taken into consideration seriously. https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/view/1230 https://ijm.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijm/article/download/1230/775