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Molecular epidemiology and characterisation of MRSA isolates from Trinidad and Tobago

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Abstract

Eighty methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from three hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago were collected and genotyped using microarray hybridisation. They were found to belong to three distinct MRSA strains. Of the 80 isolates, 76 were assigned to ST239-MRSA-III. They were largely homogeneous, although some variations affected the presence of the enterotoxin A gene, as well as of resistance markers (mercury resistance operon, aadD, tet(K), qacA). The mupA gene conferring mupirocin resistance was found in 7.3% of isolates. One isolate was identified as CC5-MRSA-II and three isolates belonged to the Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive ST8-MRSA-IV strain USA300. While community-acquired MRSA strains are rare in Trinidad and Tobago, the vast majority of MRSA cases can be attributed to healthcare-associated strains. Thus, infection control procedures within medical facilities need to be revised and enforced. This could substantially reduce the burden of MRSA to healthcare in Trinidad and Tobago.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge A. Ruppelt (Dresden), E. Müller and J. Sachtschal (Jena) for their excellent technical assistance. We thank Prof. E. Jacobs (Dresden) and E. Ermantraut (Jena) for supporting this work.

Competing interests

S.M., P.S. and R.E. are employees of Alere Technologies. This had no influence on the study design, analysis and interpretation of the data. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany

    S. Monecke & H. Nitschke

  2. Alere Technologies GmbH, Jena, Germany

    S. Monecke, P. Slickers & R. Ehricht

  3. Department of Para-Clinical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

    W. Swanston, R. Roberts & P. E. Akpaka

  4. General Hospital, Charlotte Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

    M. Manjunath

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  1. S. Monecke
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  2. H. Nitschke
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  3. P. Slickers
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  4. R. Ehricht
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  5. W. Swanston
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  6. M. Manjunath
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  7. R. Roberts
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  8. P. E. Akpaka
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Correspondence to S. Monecke.

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Monecke, S., Nitschke, H., Slickers, P. et al. Molecular epidemiology and characterisation of MRSA isolates from Trinidad and Tobago. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 31, 1497–1500 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1469-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-011-1469-6

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