1. Re-emergence of early pandemic Staphylococcus aureus as a community-acquired meticillin-resistant clone.
- Author
-
Robinson DA, Kearns AM, Holmes A, Morrison D, Grundmann H, Edwards G, O'Brien FG, Tenover FC, McDougal LK, Monk AB, and Enright MC
- Subjects
- Australia epidemiology, Bacterial Toxins, Bacteriophage Typing, Canada epidemiology, Community-Acquired Infections, Disease Outbreaks, Exotoxins, Genes, Bacterial, Genotype, Humans, Leukocidins genetics, Staphylococcal Infections microbiology, Staphylococcus Phages classification, Methicillin Resistance, Staphylococcal Infections epidemiology, Staphylococcus aureus genetics
- Abstract
During the 1950s, the notorious penicillin-resistant clone of Staphylococcus aureus known as phage type 80/81 emerged and caused serious hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections worldwide. This clone was largely eliminated in the 1960s, concurrent with the widespread use of penicillinase-resistant beta lactams. We investigated whether early 80/81 isolates had the genes for Panton-Valentine leucocidin, a toxin associated with virulence in healthy young people. Multilocus sequence analysis suggested that descendants of 80/81 have acquired meticillin resistance, are re-emerging as a community-acquired meticillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) clone, and represent a sister lineage to pandemic hospital-acquired MRSA.
- Published
- 2005
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