title: Clonal spreading of methicillin-resistant SCCmec Staphylococcus aureus with specific spa and dru types in central Taiwan.
abstract: The goal of this study was to delineate the molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Taiwan. Ninety-six MRSA isolates were collected from the blood cultures of different patients during the period July to December of 2008. The spa typing, staphylococcal chromosomal cassette (SCCmec) typing, mec-associated direct repeat unit (dru) copy numbers, and toxin genes (sea, seb, sec, tst, lukS/F) of each isolate were determined. Thirty-eight, 28, 18, and 12 MRSA isolates were SCCmec type II, SCCmec type III, SCCmec type IV, and SCCmec type V, respectively. Most (31/38, 81.6%) of the SCCmec type II isolates were of spa t002 with four dru repeats. Some of them also carried the sec or tst toxin gene (67.7 and 80.6%, respectively). Of the 28 SCCmec type III MRSA isolates, 15 (53.6%) were of t037 with 14 dru repeats, and all also carried the sea gene. Of the 18 SCCmec type IV MRSA isolates, 13 (72.2%) were of t437 with nine dru repeats, and ten of them also had the seb gene. Among the SCCmec type V MRSA isolates, nine were type V(T). Five (55.6%) of them were of t437 with 11 dru repeats, and all contained the lukS/F gene. The clonal spreading of SCCmec MRSA strains with specific spa and dru types was found. Further longitudinal, multiple-site surveillance is required in order to define the MRSA evolution in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, Taichung, 40447, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C-M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: M-W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tien
authors.forename: J-J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001769:Blood / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058889:Molecular Typing; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors