Lack of small colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus from lower respiratory tract specimens

Abstract

Background: Small-colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus are associated with worse lung disease in children with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), exhibit a higher resistance to antibiotics and co-colonize more commonly with Pseudomonas aeruginosa compared to the normal phenotype. The prevalence of SCVs in lower airway specimens from children with CF is largely unknown. Methods: Each visible morphotype of S. aureus was subcultured onto horse blood agar (HBA) to enable identification of SCVs. Results: Sixty-one samples from 41 children (mean age 11.7 (SD 5.3) years) were identified with a positive S. aureus culture from lower respiratory tract specimens collected in 2014-2015. None of the differ..