title: Evidence of transmission of a Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone: a family affair.
abstract: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) may represent a serious public health problem, owing to the spread of toxin-producing lineages. The presence of genes encoding for Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is an important virulence marker, as the clinical sequelae of PVL-positive infections are often described as more severe than those of PVL-negative S. aureus infections. To date, the presence of PVL has not appeared to be common in Italy; we describe the intrafamilial transmission of an epidemic PVL-producing CA-MRSA lineage, Southwest Pacific clone (SWP). Our data suggested that the strain circulated from the father, who was recurrently affected by a soft tissue infection, to the mother, who showed nasal colonization, and to their child, who was hospitalized with symptoms of necrotizing pneumonia. In this case, we found that a recurrent skin infection that is not normally taken into account may represent a serious threat if caused by a PVL-producing strain. Our findings may have considerable implications for strategies for infection control and treatment of methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections.
authors: Department of Sciences for Woman and Child's Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Cocchi
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Taccetti
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Montagnani
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Campana
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Galli
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Braggion
authors: M
authors: M
authors: de Martino
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil / Q000208:ethnology; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D005098:Exotoxins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005220:Fathers; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007956:Leukocidins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D009035:Mothers; D011023:Pneumonia, Staphylococcal / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012008:Recurrence; D018461:Soft Tissue Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D013207:Staphylococcal Skin Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D005098:Exotoxins; D007956:Leukocidins; C078284:Panton-Valentine leukocidin; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: CA-MRSA; MLST; PVL; infection; transmission