title: The dominant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone from hospitals in Cape Town has an unusual genotype: ST612.
abstract: There is currently limited information available on the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South Africa. A molecular characterization of 100 MRSA from five hospitals in Cape Town was carried out in this study. The strains were separated into six clusters by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, indicating transmission of MRSA between local hospitals. None of the strains carried the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin gene. SCCmec typing, multilocus sequence typing and spa typing were used to further characterize the MRSA. Three clones corresponded to frequently described pandemic clones: ST239-MRSA-III, ST36-MRSA-II and ST5-MRSA-I. ST239-MRSA-III and ST36-MRSA-II were minor clones and collectively accounted for 16% of the isolates. ST5-MRSA-I was the second-most prevalent clone and accounted for 37% of the isolates. The dominant local clone was the infrequently described ST612-MRSA-IV (44% of isolates), which has only been described in South Africa and Australia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Microbiology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Jansen van Rensburg
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eliya Madikane
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Whitelaw
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chachage
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haffejee
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gay Elisha
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005838:Genotype; D006761:Hospitals; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D013019:South Africa; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*