title: Characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from fitness centers in the Memphis metropolitan area, Tennessee.
abstract: Indoor skin-contact surfaces of public fitness centers may serve as reservoirs of potential human transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We found a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) MRSA of clonal complex 59 lineage harboring a variety of extracellular toxin genes from surface swab samples collected from inanimate surfaces of fitness centers in the Memphis metropolitan area, Tennessee. Our findings underscore the role of inanimate surfaces as potential sources of transmission of MDR MRSA strains with considerable genetic diversity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN.
authors.forename: Nabanita
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.affiliation: Southeast Regional Laboratory, Microbiological Sciences Branch, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Irshad M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Electronic address: pbnerjee@memphis.edu.
authors.forename: Pratik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Banerjee
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D020446:Fitness Centers; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D058889:Molecular Typing; D013714:Tennessee
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins
keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Community-acquired infections; Fomites; MRSA; Multiple antibacterial drug resistance