Products to Detect Antibiotic-Resistant Organisms

In order for clinicians to have the best possible information about an illness, they need to have ways to detect and confirm antibiotic-resistant infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), when appropriate.

A range of new products from Oxoid (Basingstoke, UK) is designed for this task. The company's oxacillin-resistant screening agar base (ORSAB), for example, can be used to screen for MRSA in swab samples. It provides exactly the right conditions for MRSA to grow, and even when present in low numbers it can be recovered and detected. ORSAB is simple to use: if MRSA colonies are present, they turn an intense blue color, making visual identification easy. This is especially useful when a large number of samples are examined as part of a hospital's screening program.

Once MRSA has been detected, confirmation can be made by using Oxoid's PBP2 latex agglutination kit. This test confirms the presence of penicillin binding protein (PBP2). A sample is added to a card on which latex particles sensitized with a monoclonal antibody against PBP2 are pre-dried. If MRSA is present, the latex will agglutinate into easily visible clumps.

Oxoid's culture media can be used for the detection of vancomycin-resistant organisms. Brain Heart infusion agar medium and vancomycin supplement can be used for the detection of vancomycin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), while Oxoid's VRE selective medium has been specially formulated for the detection of VRE.




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