DNA typing of cytological samples for retrospective identification of an early case of Panton-Valentine leucocidin-positive, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.

This paper describes a fatal case of culture-confirmed, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) pneumonia in an 8-month-old child in Hong Kong in 2001. Stored cytological materials prepared from the pleural fluid were retrieved for molecular analysis. The result indicates the presence of a Panton-Valentine leucocidin-positive, spa type 019 MRSA.