title: Tracking methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clones in Colombian hospitals over 7 years (1996-2003): emergence of a new dominant clone.
abstract: Worldwide dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones is a well-characterised phenomenon. Two hundred isolates of MRSA recovered from 17 Colombian hospitals collected between 2001 and 2003 were characterised by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). A new dominant electrophoretic pattern unrelated to previously characterised clones in Colombia was detected in 137 (68.5%) of these isolates. Only 40 (20%) isolates still showed a pattern closely related to a previously described dominant clone. The new electrophoretic pattern was indistinguishable from a cluster of isolates recovered in Chile between 1996 and 1998. Isolates from this clonal cluster exhibited multidrug resistance but were susceptible to linezolid and glycopeptides. The results indicate a shift in the population genetics of Colombian MRSA and confirm dissemination of the Chilean clone for the first time.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Group, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá D.C., Colombia.
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Renzoni
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.forename: Jinnethe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schrenzel
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castañeda
authors.forename: César A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Arias
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008712:Methicillin