title: Nine-year surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a hospital suggests instability of mecA DNA region in an epidemic strain.
abstract: The distributions of the antibiotic resistance patterns in a population of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a teaching hospital were studied over a 9-year period. The results indicate the existence of successive major epidemic methicillin-resistant strains and the emergence of a methicillin-susceptible strain with an unusual resistance pattern. Our findings suggest that this methicillin-susceptible S. aureus strain could be derived from the dominant gentamicin-susceptible methicillin-resistant S. aureus strain with the loss of a 40-kb DNA fragment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire. UPRES 12-54 Microbiologie, Université de Rennes 1, 35033 Rennes Cedex 9, France. pierre-yves.donnio@chu-rennes.fr
authors.forename: Pierre-Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Donnio
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Louvet
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Preney
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nicolas
authors.forename: Jean-Loup
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Avril
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Desbordes
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006602:Hexosyltransferases; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D002267:Muramoylpentapeptide Carboxypeptidase / Q000235:genetics*; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D010458:Peptidyl Transferases; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D046915:Penicillin-Binding Proteins; D010458:Peptidyl Transferases; D006602:Hexosyltransferases; D002267:Muramoylpentapeptide Carboxypeptidase