S. aureus ATCC 43300 (methicillin resistant S.aureus [MRSA]) and S.aureus ATCC 29213 (methicillin sensitive S.aureus [MSSA]) from ATCC, Mannasse, USA were used in this study. Clinical isolates of S. aureus were procured from Post-graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. The strains were isolated from clinical specimens (nasal screening swabs, blood, pus, soft tissue, wound swabs, respiratory samples and body fluids) from both in-patient as well as out-patients from in as well as around places near Chandigarh, India.
These strains were identified on the basis of Gram reaction, growth on mannitol salt agar (MSA), catalase activity, and coagulase test. Methicillin resistance was determined using cefoxitin disk on Mueller-Hinton agar (Oxoid) followed by determination of MICs of oxacillin for these strains as recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) [38] .A total of forty five MRSA isolates were selected and stored in glycerol at −80°C. These strains were used for determining the lytic spectrum/host range of the isolated phage. S. aureus specific lytic bacteriophage, MR-5 with broad host range (active against both MRSA as well as MSSA strains), belonging to family Myoviridae, isolated and characterized in our laboratory earlier was used in the present study [39] (link).