title: Shift in dominant hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HA-MRSA) clones over time.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The majority of HA-MRSA infections are caused by endogenous infection and by only a small number of clones. The reasons for the success of some clones over others are unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the evolution of an MRSA population from a large, acute-care teaching hospital in London, UK over a 10 year period. MRSA incidence and antibiotic prescribing were correlated with changes in resistance genes and prevalence of clonal groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three clones caused the majority of infections, CC30 SCCmecII (EMRSA-16), CC22 SCCmecIV (EMRSA-15) and ST239 SCCmecIII. Clones that were multidrug resistant were selected for, and CC22 became dominant once it acquired a wide range of extra resistance genes. CC22 MRSA was also the fittest clone in an independent growth assay and a competition assay, and had a greater ability to survive desiccation. No individual isolate was fully drug resistant, and there was evidence of substantial horizontal gene transfer (HGT) as well as resistance gene loss within the clonal groups. The exception was fluoroquinolone resistance, which was rarely lost by any of the dominant hospital clones, suggesting that this resistance contributes to selection and survival of HA-MRSA. In support of this, a decrease in hospital-wide ciprofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone) prescribing was strongly associated with an overall decrease in MRSA infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest successful HA-MRSA clones such as CC22 SCCmecIV are resistant to fluoroquinolones as well as fitter and able to acquire, but not necessarily accumulate, resistance to a wide range of additional antibiotics.
authors: Department of Clinical Sciences, St George's, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE, UK.
authors: Gwenan M
authors: GM
authors: Knight
authors: Emma L
authors: EL
authors: Budd
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Whitney
authors: Alastair
authors: A
authors: Thornley
authors: Hasan
authors: H
authors: Al-Ghusein
authors: Timothy
authors: T
authors: Planche
authors: Jodi A
authors: JA
authors: Lindsay
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000494:pharmacology; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058889:Molecular Typing; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D024841:Fluoroquinolones