mGem: Population genomics of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> bacteremia and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
bloodstream isolates before, during, and after COVID-19 in two hospitals on different continents: Parc Taulí University Hospital (Spain) and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (USA). We hypothesize that pandemic-related environmental perturbations, such as those due to infection control practices and antimicrobial exposure, may have contributed to shifts in the diversity of circulating bacterial lineages and genomic elements. Our findings revealed changes in the distribution of low-frequency clones, antimicrobial resistance genes, and virulence factors, potentially reflecting changes in selective pressures in clinical environments.
Authors
- Òscar Q. Pich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3561-630X)
- Miquel Sánchez−Osuna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5267-4814)
- Oriol Ferret Gasch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8518-458X)
- Ana Beatriz Garcez Buiatte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9212-8607)
- Cheryl P. Andam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4428-0924)
- Isabella W. Martin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7974-9767)
- Rebecca Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8692-4743)
Institutions
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Albany State University (US)
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center (US)
- University at Albany, State University of New York (US)
- Institute of Research and Innovation Parc Tauli (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mBio
- Published
- 2026-04-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03665-25
- Primary Topic
- Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III