title: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with mecC: a description of 45 human cases in southern Sweden.
abstract: In 2011, a novel mecA gene homologue, mecC, was reported in isolates from both humans and dairy cattle. The epidemiology of mecC methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in humans is not yet well known. In this retrospective study, we present the epidemiology of human clinical cases with mecC MRSA detected in the southern part of Sweden during the period 2005-2014. A total of 45 patients with an isolate positive for mecC MRSA were included in the study. Twenty-six isolates were found before 2012 and were retrospectively tested for mecC. Nineteen isolates were detected in 2012-2014 through routine testing. Culture results, resistance patterns, Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes, and spa types were collected from the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory. Epidemiological data were received from the database at the Regional Centre for Communicable Disease Control and the patient's medical files. The majority of the patients with mecC MRSA were of Swedish origin, had underlying diseases, and lived in rural areas. The median age was 60 years. Of the mecC MRSA, 76 % belonged to spa types t373 and t843. The median minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value for oxacillin was 16 mg/L (1-64 mg/L) and only one isolate was resistant to other classes of antibiotics. The most common type of infection was skin and soft tissue infections, most often in an existing skin lesion. The patients with mecC MRSA were colonized for a short time and gave rise to few secondary cases. mecC MRSA in our region appears to have a domestic origin and mainly affects patients with underlying diseases or patients with an existing skin lesion. Our data indicate that it could be a poor colonizer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Helsingborg Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden. anna-karin.a.lindgren@skane.se.|Infektionsmottagningen Helsingborgs lasarett, S Vallgatan 5, 251 87, Helsingborg, Sweden. anna-karin.a.lindgren@skane.se.
authors.forename: A-K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Lindgren
authors.affiliation: Regional Centre for Communicable Disease Control, Skåne County, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: Clinical Microbiology (CM), University and Regional Laboratories, Region Skåne, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Petersson
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection Control, Skåne County, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Melander
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008712:Methicillin