Characterization of community and hospital Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Southampton, UK.
Staphylococcus aureus infections are a burden to healthcare systems. There remains a lack of understanding on the relative contributions of S. aureus infection in the healthcare and community settings. In this study, 59 S. aureus isolates were selected for molecular analysis. The mobile variant staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IV was present in both healthcare-associated meticillin-resistant S. aureus (HA-MRSA) and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), as was the Panton-Valentine leukocidin gene. PFGE identified 24 distinct clonal groups whilst multi-locus sequence typing identified 26 different sequence types, including four with new combinations of alleles. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a selection of CA and HA MSSA and MRSA strains have been subjected to molecular analysis and comparison in the UK. Definitions for CA-MRSA need further debate as the movement of strains between healthcare and community settings is confounding the use of epidemiological definitions.
Green
S M
SM
HPA RMN South East Regional Laboratory, Southampton, UK.
Marsh
P
P
HPA RMN South East Regional Laboratory, Southampton, UK.
Ahmad
N
N
HPA RMN South East Regional Laboratory, Southampton, UK.
Jefferies
J M C
JMC
Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.|HPA RMN South East Regional Laboratory, Southampton, UK.
Clarke
S C
SC
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Health Protection Unit, Whiteley, UK.|Molecular Microbiology Group, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology