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Distinct genotypic clusters of heterogeneously and homogeneously methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus from a Greek hospital

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Abstract

Methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated over a one-year period from a Greek hospital were tested for their levels of resistance to methicillin by population analysis. Heterogeneously resistant strains belonged to classes I, II, and II/III, whereas homogeneously resistant ones belonged to class IV. Strains of all classes possessed the mecA gene. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of Smal-digested genomic DNA revealed that all heterogeneously resistant strains were related. Homogeneously resistant strains were also closely related, but in a cluster distinct from the heterogeneous one. The methicillin-sensitive strains displayed a greater variety of PFGE types compared to MRSA isolates.

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Tassios, P.T., Vatopoulos, A.C., Xanthaki, A. et al. Distinct genotypic clusters of heterogeneously and homogeneously methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus from a Greek hospital. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. 16, 170–173 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01709481

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