title: A major methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone predominates in Malaysian hospitals.
abstract: This study was conducted to determine the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Malaysian hospitals. A total of 264 MRSA isolates from eight hospitals were subjected to typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI restricted DNA. Antibiotic disk susceptibility testing was also carried out to determine their resistance patterns. Thirty-one PFGE pattern types were identified. Three major pattern types A, ZC and K were found with type A the predominant profile in c. 80% of strains and present in all hospitals. Unlike type A, other DNA pattern types were unique to the hospitals in which they were isolated. PFGE type A also consisted of strains that were multiply antibiotic resistant. The presence of a single predominant PFGE type in Malaysian hospitals is an important finding which suggests that inter-hospital spread of MRSA had occurred frequently and regularly.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norazah
authors.forename: V K E
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Rohani
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alfizah
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: A G M
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kamel
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial