PRESENCIA DE LOS GENES mecA Y blaZ COMO MECANISMOS DE DESARROLLO DE RESISTENCIA A -LACTÁMICOS EN CEPAS DE Staphylococcus aureus Presence of the blaZ and mecA genes as mechanisms of -lactams resistance development in Staphyloccocus aureus strains

The members of the Staphylococcus genus are Gram-positive cocci belonging to the Micrococcaceae family. S. aureus is a motionless cocus measuring from 0.8 to 1µm of diameter. S. aureus is capable of producing more than 30 extracelular proteins, which may increase pathogenesis and virulence of this organism (Iglewwski and Clark. 1990). Likewise, it may generate genes that are resistant to -lactams (blaZ and mecA) and other antibiotics, hindering the use of the antimicrobial treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the presence of genes that contribute to the development of resistance to -lactam antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients attending private health centers. Amplification techniques by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to detect the presence of mecA genes, responsi