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Spread of a single multiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone carrying a variant of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type III isolated in a university hospital

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Abstract

The purpose of the study was the molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates cultured from patients treated in seven wards of a university hospital in Lublin, Poland, over a 14-month period. Eleven nosocomial MRSA isolates were analyzed. Phenotypic identification of the isolates as MRSA was confirmed by the detection of the nuc and mecA genes using a multiplex PCR assay. The MRSA isolates were further characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, 16S-23S rRNA spacer length polymorphism analysis, and the simplex and multiplex SCCmec PCR assays. The MRSA isolates were found to be multiresistant: in addition to resistance to β-lactam agents, they demonstrated resistance to ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, erythromycin, and gentamicin. The MRSA isolates were genetically identical and shared common pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles and 16S-23S rRNA spacer length polymorphism profiles. The PCR-based method revealed that the profile of the Lublin clone was identical to that of the Brazilian pandemic MRSA isolates. By SCCmec typing, all MRSA isolates harbored the C variant of the SCCmec type III that differed from the typical SCCmec type III pattern by the lack of locus F (414 bp). The results of this study indicate the spread of a single, multiresistant, MRSA clone in various wards of a university hospital over a 14-month period. The SCCmec structure harbored by the Lublin clone has previously been identified among Polish MRSA isolates representing the HoMRSA-Pol1 clone. The data from this study indicate that the Lublin MRSA clone is most probably genetically related to the HoMRSA-Pol1 clone. Moreover, this latter clone belongs to ST239, the same sequence type as the Hungarian and Brazilian pandemic MRSA isolates.

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Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the Federation of European Microbiological Societies Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Medical University of Lublin, Chodźki 1 Street, 20-093, Lublin, Poland

    A. Szczepanik & M. Kozioł-Montewka

  2. Scottish MRSA Reference Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Stobhill Hospital, Balornock Road, Glasgow, G21 3UW, UK

    Z. Al-Doori & D. Morrison

  3. Hospital Laboratory, University Hospital, Medical University of Lublin, Jaczewskiego 8 Street, 20-090, Lublin, Poland

    D. Kaczor

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  1. A. Szczepanik
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  2. M. Kozioł-Montewka
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  3. Z. Al-Doori
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  5. D. Kaczor
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Correspondence to A. Szczepanik.

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Szczepanik, A., Kozioł-Montewka, M., Al-Doori, Z. et al. Spread of a single multiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone carrying a variant of staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type III isolated in a university hospital. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 26, 29–35 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-006-0237-5

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