Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a university hospital in northwestern Spain.

Continuous monitoring of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is necessary to understand the clonal evolution of successful lineages. In this study, we identified the MRSA clones circulating in a Spanish hospital during a 2-year period, assessed their relationship with antimicrobial resistance profiles, and investigated the presence of the emerging community-associated and livestock-associated MRSA lineages (CA-MRSA, LA-MRSA). CC5-MRSA-IV isolates were the most frequently recovered, which supports the previously reported prevalence of this clone in Spanish hospitals. We observed ST125 isolates that harbored specific cassette chromosome recombinase (ccr) gene elements of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types IV and VI. That clone, which was first detected only recently, has increased resistance to erythromycin. Furthermore, 94% of the infections were caused by non-multiresistant isolates. Neither CA-MRSA nor LA-MRSA isolates were observed. These findings, along with related events over the last decade, suggest the establishment of a clonal endemic population in the Spanish clinical environment.