The rise of antimicrobial resistance limits therapeutic options for infections by methicillin-resistant staphylococci. The staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) is a mobile genetic element as the only carrier of the methicillin-resistance determinants, the mecA or mecC gene. The use of antibiotics increases the spread of antibiotic resistance, but the mechanism by which antibiotics pr...

BACKGROUND The clinical spectrum of Staphylococcus aureus infection ranges from asymptomatic nasal carriage to osteomyelitis, infective endocarditis (IE) and death. In this study, we evaluate potential association between the presence of specific genes in a collection of prospectively characterized S. aureus clinical isolates and clinical outcome. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Two hundred th...

Background Methicillin resistant Coagulase negative staphylococci (MRCoNS) are opportunistic pathogens among HIVAIDS patients and serve as a large reservoir of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec (SCCmec) that carries mecA. Very little is known about the prevalent SCCmec types among MRCoNS from HIV patients and its molecular epidemiology. Hence, this study was aimed at determining the distri...

Following an outbreak caused by staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type V methicillin (meticillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a point-prevalence survey of the nasal carriage of staphylococci was conducted in a long-term-care facility in northern Finland in 2004. The focus was directed at methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MR-CNS) and their SCCmec e...

This study compares the characteristics of Staphylococcus epidermidis (SE) and Staphylococcus haemolyticus (SH) isolates from epidemiologically unrelated infections in humans (Hu) (28 SE-Hu; 8 SH-Hu) and companion animals (CpA) (12 SE-CpA; 13 SH-CpA). All isolates underwent antimicrobial susceptibility testing, multilocus sequence typing and DNA microarray profiling to detect antimicrobial resi...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes a wide range of infections in health care settings and community environments. In particular, community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is important for clinicians because many fatal cases in healthy populations have been reported. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) is a mobile genetic element and carries the central determinant for...

Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) elements confer methicillin resistance to the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]). Recently, the International Working Group on the Classification of Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome Elements (IWG-SCC) has published new guidelines for classifying different SCCmec elements (3). The new classification of S...

background: staphylococcus aureus can cause infections with a wide spectrum of illnesses ranging from benign skin infections to bloodstream infection leading to mortality. antimicrobial resistance especially methicillin resistance in s. aureus (mrsa strains) is currently problematic. the emergence of mrsa infections has developed in both the healthcare and the community settings.  the aim of th...

BACKGROUND Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are opportunistic pathogens. Methicillin resistance is common in CoNS and may play an important role as reservoir of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) for Staphylococcus aureus. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine molecular characteristics of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci ...

Until recently, it has been unclear whether community-acquired (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates represent the spread of hospital MRSA isolates into the community. In 2 CA-MRSA isolates, a novel genetic element, designated staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IV, was found; it differs from SCCmec types I-III in its small size and absence of non-bet...