title: Population dynamics of persistent Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the airways of cystic fibrosis patients during a 6-year prospective study.
abstract: Molecular typing of normal (n = 456) and small-colony-variant (SCV; n = 239) Staphylococcus aureus isolates cultured from the airways of 52 of 72 cystic fibrosis (CF) patients (72.2%) during a 6-year prospective study revealed a median long-term persistence of 37 months (range, 6 to 70). SCV persisted longer in the airways than the normal S. aureus (statistically not significant). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified six prevalent clonal lineages, which were cultured from more than one patient (3 to 12 patients), and 39 individual clones, which were isolated only from single patients. The SCV phenotype was not restricted to a distinct clonal lineage but occurred in many different clones. Most patients (33 of 52, 63.46%) harbored single clones. This study provides a basis for improved understanding of S. aureus colonization and infection dynamics in CF patients.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology. Department of Pediatrics, University of Muenster Hospital and Clinics, Muenster, Germany. kahl@uni-muenster.de
authors.forename: Barbara C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Kahl
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duebbers
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lubritz
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haeberle
authors.forename: Hans G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ritzerfeld
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Proctor
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013183:Sputum / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*