mGem : Population genomics of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
Sánchez-Osuna, Miquel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")
Buiatte, Ana Beatriz Garcez (University at Albany. Department of Biological Sciences)
Wang, Rebecca (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center)
Gasch Blasi, Oriol (Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT))
Martin, Isabella W. (Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center)
Andam, Cheryl P. (University at Albany. Department of Biological Sciences)
Pich, Oscar Q. (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina "Vicent Villar Palasí")

Date:	2026
Abstract:	The pressure of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on global healthcare systems and societies was unprecedented in the modern era. Social restrictions, containment measures, and disruptions in antimicrobial prescriptions and consumption during the pandemic have been reported to alter the epidemiology of bacterial diseases, although these effects likely differed markedly between locations. Here, we compare the clinical, clonal distribution, and genomic features of Staphylococcus aureus 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.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI24/01294
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Staphylococcus aureus ; Bacteremia ; Population genomics
Published in:	mBio, Vol. 17, Num. 5 (May 2026) , art. e03665-25, ISSN 2150-7511

DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03665-25

8 p, 1.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Parc Taulí Research and Innovation Institute (I3PT
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Health sciences and biosciences > Institut de Biotecnologia i de Biomedicina (IBB)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles