Prevalence of the ST239 clone of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and differences in antimicrobial susceptibilities of ST239 and ST5 clones identified in a Korean hospital.
A total of 188 nonduplicate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates obtained between 2001 and 2004 in a university hospital in Daegu, Korea, were analyzed for their clonal types by molecular typing techniques, including multilocus sequence typing, spaA typing, staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). They were examined for their antimicrobial susceptibilities. The majority (87%) of MRSA isolates belonged to sequence type 239 (ST239; n = 100; 53%) and ST5 (n = 63, 34%) on the basis of sequence typing. MRSA isolates belonging to ST239 were genotypically homogeneous, while those belonging to ST5 showed variations in spaA type, SCCmec type, and PFGE patterns. The rates of resistance of the MRSA isolates belonging to ST239 to trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, tobramycin, gentamicin, erythromycin, and tetracycline were significantly higher than those of the isolates belonging to ST5 (P < 0.05). This study demonstrated that the ST239 clone, while rarely detected in Korea, was prevalent and that the antimicrobial susceptibility of the ST239 clone was significantly different from that of the ST5 clone.
Cha
Hwa Yun
HY
Department of Microbiology, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, 101, Dongin-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu 700-422, Korea.
Moon
Dong Chan
DC
Choi
Chul Hee
CH
Oh
Jae Young
JY
Jeong
Young Sook
YS
Lee
Yoo Chul
YC
Seol
Sung Yong
SY
Cho
Dong Taek
DT
Chang
Hyun-Ha
HH
Kim
Shin-Woo
SW
Lee
Je Chul
JC
D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics