title: Prevalence and genetic relatedness of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Israel.
abstract: The aims of the study presented here were to determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus carriage and, specifically, community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) carriage in children and their parents in Israel and to determine the genetic relatedness of these isolates. S. aureus was isolated from 580 of 3,373 (17.2%) individuals screened. The predominant type identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was strain ST45-MSSA (25%). Five MRSA isolates were detected, and two of these were classified as CA-MRSA, based on the following criteria: no previous contact with a healthcare facility, absence of a multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype, and presence of SCCmec type IV. Isolates were negative for pvl and were classified as ST-45-MRSA. Although CA-MRSA is still rare in Israel, the genetic relatedness of the strains found in this study to a successful MSSA clone warrants close follow up.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel. gregev@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Regev-Yochay
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Carmeli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raz
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pinco
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Etienne
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leavitt
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Navon-Venezia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics