Introduction

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which arose in the 1960s, typically causes infections
in inpatients, who have risk factors associated with health care. MRSA infections have been described in
the general population. These infections arise in the community, and thus affected people lack traditional
risk factors such as recent admittance, surgery, or long term residence in care facilities. (Tadashi Baba
et.al 2002)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has traditionally been considered a healthcare
associated pathogen in patients with established risk factors (Kluytmans-VandenBergh, 2006).
Antimicrobial resistance is a major global health concern, and, of the Gram-positive bacteria, drug-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a serious threat. S. aureus causes a wide range of infections commonly
involving the skin, soft tissue, bone, joints, and infections associated with indwelling catheters or
prosthetic devices. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common cause of a fever among patients
admitted in the hospital. (Lulitanond, 2015)
In addition, S. aureus is a leading cause of bacteremia in industrialized nations. Although methicillin
resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bacteremia incidence has decreased over the past decade. MRSA remains
associated with poorer clinical outcomes compared with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA).
Different strains are responsible for hospital- and community-acquired MRSA infections. (Hassoun,
2017)
Colonization occurs by contact with contaminated wounds, dressings and inanimate objects of infected
patients, with another individual’s colonized intact skin and by inhalation of aerosolized droplets from
chronic nasal carriers. The worldwide MRSA prevalence varies considerably, from less than 1% in
Scandinavia to up to 40% in Japan, Israel and elsewhere in Europe [7,9]. In a 2007 study on
invasive isolates from southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, the highest proportions of MRSA
isolates were reported by Jordan, Egypt and Cyprus. Egypt reported a rate of 52% in comparison with
other Mediterranean countries such as Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Malta, which reported
rates of 12%, 19%, 45%, 18% and 50% respectively, while Jordan and Cyprus reported 56% and
55% respectively [10]. A 2009 study in Alexandria Main University hospitals reported that of 100
S. aureus isolates, 71 were MRSA, mostly from patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). (Soliman, 2015)

Many studies have been carried out to investigate the prevalence of Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) worldwide. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the performance,
of two of different targets, Traditional method and PCR method in this experiment and aiming to identify
the traditional method that could be used to detect if the isolates were Staphylococcus aureus on the other
hand the PCR method that could be used to detect if the isolates were Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aurues (MRSA) using the mec A gene as the primer in Respiratory Pleural from the
patient.