Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus are human facultative pathogenic bacteria and can be found as contaminants in the environment. The aim of our study was to determine whether methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) isolated from coastal beach and river waters, anchialine pools, sand, and wastewater on the island of Hawai'i, Hawai'i, are a potential health risk. Samples were collected from three regions on Hawai'i Island from July to December 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and were characterized using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). From WGS data, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), SCCmec type, antimicrobial resistance genes, virulence factors, and plasmids were identified. Of the 361 samples, 98.1% were positive for Staphylococcus spp. and 7.2% were S. aureus positive (n = 26); nine MRSA and 27 MSSA strains were characterized; multiple isolates were chosen from the same sample in two sand and seven coastal beach water samples. The nine MRSA isolates were multi-drug resistant (6-9 genes) sequence type (ST) 8, clonal complex (CC) 8, SCCmec type IVa (USA300 clone), and were clonally related (0-16 SNP differences), and carried 16-19 virulence factors. The 27 MSSA isolates were grouped into eight CCs and 12 STs. Seventy-eight percent of the MSSA isolates carried 1-5 different antibiotic resistance genes and carried 5-19 virulence factors. We found S. aureus in coastal beach and river waters, anchialine pools, and sand at locations with limited human activity on the island of Hawai'i. This may be a public health hazard.