Widespread dissemination in The Netherlands of the epidemic berlin methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone with low-level resistance to oxacillin.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important human pathogen and represents a growing public health burden due to the emergence and spread of epidemic strains, particularly within the hospital environment. An epidemic MRSA clone, with characteristic low-level resistance to oxacillin, emerged in the year 2000 and became endemic in the Netherlands. Multilocus sequence typing characterized the strain as sequence type 45, which was previously designated the Berlin epidemic MRSA clone. In 2 years, this strain has become the predominant MRSA clone in the Netherlands.
Wannet
W J B
WJ
Diagnostic Laboratory for Infectious Diseases and Perinatal Screening, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands. wim.wannet@rivm.nl
Spalburg
E
E
Heck
M E O C
ME
Pluister
G N
GN
Willems
R J L
RJ
De Neeling
A J
AJ
D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009426:Netherlands; D010068:Oxacillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects*
D010068:Oxacillin