In this study, genotyping techniques including staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and restriction-modification tests were used to compare the molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered at two times within a 10-year interval (1998 and 2008) from...

ST239-MRSA-SCCmec III (ST239, sequence type 239; MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; SCCmec III, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type III) is the most predominant clone of hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus in mainland China. We report here the complete genome sequence of XN108, the first vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus strain isolated from a steam-burned ...

BACKGROUND At a time when the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was changing, we sought to characterize several genotypic markers and glycopeptide susceptibility features of clinical isolates from patients with bacteraemia. METHODS One hundred and sixty-eight MRSA bloodstream isolates obtained from three multicentre clinical trials were microbiologic...

The sequences of the ccrAB genes from bovine-, canine- and chicken-originating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (S.) epidermidis (MRSE) and bovine methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (S.) aureus (MRSA) were compared to investigate the frequency of intra-species horizontal transfer of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) complex. Nineteen MRSE strains were isolated from bovin...

OBJECTIVES Staphylococcus lugdunensis can cause community- and healthcare-associated infections. This study investigated the molecular characteristics of S. lugdunensis isolates collected at our hospital and compared the characteristics of the infectious and commensal isolates. METHODS We collected the S. lugdunensis isolates between 2003 and 2013. The antimicrobial resistance test, SCCmec ty...

Clonal replacement of predominant nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains has occurred several times in Ireland during the last 4 decades. However, little is known about sporadically occurring MRSA in Irish hospitals or in other countries. Eighty-eight representative pvl-negative sporadic MRSA isolates recovered in Irish hospitals between 2000 and 2012 were investi...

Phenotypic and molecular methods were used to characterize the antibiotic resistance of 64 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus haemolyticus. By PCR of the mecA gene, 87% were found to be methicillin resistant. Approximately 55% harbored staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element (SCCmec) type V, and only one SCCmec type IV. Many isolates (75%) displayed multiresistance, and pulsotype analys...

AIMS To type the staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) in coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) from animal sources. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 92 CoNS isolates recovered from farm animals was analysed. The top three staphylococcal species were Staphylococcus lentus (34), S. sciuri (31), and S. xylosus (13). The presence of the cassette chromosome recombinase (ccr) genes ccrA1, ccrB1...

Data from a prospective, randomized, open-label, active-controlled, multicenter, Phase 4 study comparing oral or intravenous linezolid with intravenous vancomycin for treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus was used to determine the association between staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type and patient’s clinic...

BACKGROUND Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus hominis (MRSHo) are important human pathogens in immunocompromised patients. However, little is known regarding its population structure and staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) content. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To assess the population structure and the SCCmec content of S. hominis, 34 MRSHo and 11 methicillin-susceptible S. h...