title: Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Costa Rican children.
abstract: We collected all Staphylococcus aureus isolates from the National Children's Hospital in Costa Rica to evaluate the prevalence and molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Of 299 S. aureus isolates, 61% were MRSA. Most MRSA isolates (94.5%) carried SCCmec IV, and 45.6% carried Panton-Valentine leukocidin-encoding genes. The high prevalence of MRSA in this population highlights the need for improvement of antibiotic prescription and infection control measures.
authors.affiliation: From the *Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN; and †Hospital Nacional de Niños, San José, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jimenez-Truque
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Saye
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thomsen
authors.forename: Marco Luis
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: C Buddy
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Creech
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial; D003364:Costa Rica / Q000453:epidemiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005098:Exotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007956:Leukocidins / Q000235:genetics; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058889:Molecular Typing; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005098:Exotoxins; D007956:Leukocidins; C078284:Panton-Valentine leukocidin