Antimicrobial resistance and molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci from public shared bicycles in Tianjin, China

Abstract Objectives Methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) emerged as the one of the major nosocomial pathogens, and antimicrobial resistant aggravate the problem. Sixteen million public shared bicycles were launched in China, and 106 million users were recorded. However, no standard clean strategy is applied to public shared bicycles in China, and no formal surveillance is carried out among public shared bicycles. The objective of this study is to understand the diversity and antimicrobial resistance of staphylococcal species from public shared bicycles. Methods Seventy-nine specimens and 128 isolates were collected from 79 public shared bicycles in Tianjin city, China. Antimicrobial susceptibility test and molecular test was performed to understand the species, antimicrobial resistance, carriage of mecA gene, and clonal lineage. Results Thirty-five staphylococcal isolates were identified, and 80% of staphylococci were resistant to at least one antibiotics. Seventeen (49%) staphylococci were mecA-positive. SCCmec type V (n = 5), SCCmec type 1A (n = 5), SCCmec type I (n = 3), SCCmec type III (n = 2), 1 SCCmec type II (n = 1) and SCCmec type IV (n = 1) were determined. In addition, Staphylococcus epidermidis ST5, ST35, ST234 and ST419 were determined, and a new ST (ST831) was also found. Conclusions S．epidermidis group was prevalent among public shared bicycles, and multiple resistant staphylococci were determined in this study. The diversity of SCCmec elements was observed, and public shared bicycles may act as the reservoir for antimicrobial pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, additional studies are necessary to systematically understanding of the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in public shared bicycles.