Re-emergence of early pandemic Staphylococcus aureus as a community-acquired meticillin-resistant clone

Robinson, D Ashley; Kearns, Angela M; Holmes, Anne; Morrison, Donald; Grundmann, Hajo; Edwards, Giles; O'Brien, Frances G; Tenover, Fred C; McDougal, Linda K; Monk, Alastair B; Enright, Mark C

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.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2005-04
• Deposit Date: Jun 12, 2015
• Print ISSN: 0140-6736
• Electronic ISSN: 1474-547X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 365
• Issue: 9466
• Pages: 1256-1258
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736%2805%2974814-5
• Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; phage type 80/81; hospital-acquired and community-acquired infections; penicillinase-resistant β lactams; MRSA:
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/8676
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(05)74814-5