Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease
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Diagn. Microbiol. Infect. Dis. · May 2010
Epidemiology and molecular characteristics of community-associated methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus from skin/soft tissue infections in a children's hospital in Beijing, China.
To evaluate the epidemiology and molecular features of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) from children with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in Beijing, China, prospective community-acquired S. aureus SSTIs surveillance was conducted at the Beijing Children's Hospital, Beijing, China, for a 12-month period from August 1, 2008, to July 30, 2009. Susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials was determined by the agar dilution method. Genotypic characteristics of CA-MRSA isolates were tested by SCCmec typing, spa typing, and multilocus sequence typing. ⋯ Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL)-positive community-acquired S. aureus strains were more commonly associated with skin abscesses than other SSTIs (29.4% versus 5.9%, P < 0.01). In conclusion, CA-MRSA infections are not common among Chinese children with SSTIs. Our findings show that MSSA strains in China have diverse genetic backgrounds.