Characterisation of community and hospital Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Southampton, UK

Green, Steve M., Marsh, Peter, Ahmad, Nusreen, Jefferies, Johanna M.C. and Clarke, Stuart C. (2010) Characterisation of community and hospital Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Southampton, UK. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 59 (9), 1084-1088. (doi:10.1099/jmm.0.018986-0). (PMID:20538891)

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus infections are a burden to healthcare systems. There remains a lack of understanding on the relative contributions of S. aureus infection in the healthcare and community settings. In this study, fifty nine S.aureus isolates were selected for molecular analysis. The mobile variant SCCmec-IV was present in both HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA, as was the PVL gene. PFGE identified 24 distinct clonal groups whilst MLST identified 26 different STs, including four with new combinations of alleles. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a selection of community-associated and healthcare-associated MSSA and MRSA have been subjected to molecular analysis and comparison in the United Kingdom. Definitions for CA-MRSA need further debate as the movement of strains between healthcare and community settings is confounding the use of epidemiological definitions.

This record has no associated files available for download.

Contributors

Author: Stuart C. Clarke

Download statistics