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Characterization of oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus: a new type of MRSA

  • ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been defined as S. aureus having the mecA gene or showing a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of oxacillin higher than 4 mg/l. However, some clinical isolates are mecA-positive and oxacillin-susceptible. Therefore, we surveyed the occurrence of S. aureus having the mecA gene and an MIC of oxacillin of less than 2 mg/l (oxacillin-susceptible MRSA; OS-MRSA) in a total of 480 strains of S. aureus collected from 11 hospitals in different location in Japan isolated from 2003 through 2005. We found 6 strains matching the criteria for OS-MRSA. All 6 strains were staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec-positive, without exception, and 4 strains showed the SCCmec type III-variant, which is unique in Japan. These OS-MRSAs were least resistant to oxacillin among the MRSAs tested and they were within the susceptible range to seven other β-lactam antibiotics tested. Thus, OS-MRSA may become a high-resistant MRSA upon the treatment of patients with β-lactam antibiotics. To characterize whether these OS-MRSAs were hospital-acquired or community-acquired MRSAs, we tested for the presence of the genes encoding toxins. Genes encoding hemolysin, exfoliative toxin, enterotoxin, toxic shock syndrome toxin-1, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin were found in 6, 4, 0, 0, and 0 strains, respectively. These results revealed that OS-MRSAs could be classified as a new type of MRSA that exhibits properties distinguishable from either hospital- or community-acquired MRSA. Coagulase typing of the OS-MRSAs supported the above conclusion. In this study, the occurrence of OS-MRSA at a certain frequency was noted; precautions are called for in the classification of oxacillin-resistant S. aureus and in the treatment of OS-MRSA infection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kitasato Research Center for Anti-infection Drugs, 5-9-1, Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-8642, Japan

    Yasuko Hososaka, Hideaki Hanaki, Harumi Endo, Yumiko Suzuki, Taiji Nakae & Keisuke Sunakawa

  2. Saga University Faculty of Medicine, Saga, Japan

    Zenzo Nagasawa

  3. Social Insurance Central General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshihito Otsuka

  4. Department of Infectious Disease, School of Medicine, Kitasato University, Kanagawa, Japan

    Keisuke Sunakawa

Authors
  1. Yasuko Hososaka
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  2. Hideaki Hanaki
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  3. Harumi Endo
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  4. Yumiko Suzuki
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  5. Zenzo Nagasawa
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  6. Yoshihito Otsuka
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  7. Taiji Nakae
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  8. Keisuke Sunakawa
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Correspondence to Yasuko Hososaka.

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Hososaka, Y., Hanaki, H., Endo, H. et al. Characterization of oxacillin-susceptible mecA-positive Staphylococcus aureus: a new type of MRSA. J Infect Chemother 13, 79–86 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-006-0502-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-006-0502-7

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