Spread of a methicillin-resistant and multiresistant epidemic clone of Staphylococcus aureus in Argentina

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

One hundred forty-eight recent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates collected from 13 hospitals in Argentina were examined for antibiotic susceptibility and clonal type, using hybridization with DNA probes specific for mecA and Tn554, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of chromosomal SmaI digests. The majority of the isolates (62.2%) shared the common PFGE B pattern and carried variants of meca and Tn554 polymorphs characteristic of an MRSA clone widely spread in Brazilian hospitals. Similarly to the Brazilian isolates, the MRSA clone recovered in the Argentinian hospitals (XI::B::B) and its close relatives (XI::B'::B, XI::AA::B, XI::M::B, XI::ωω::B, and III::W::B) showed susceptibility to spectinomycin and resistance to numerous antibacterial agents, including β- lactams, tetracycline, aminoglycosides, macrolides, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ciprofloxacin, and fosfomycin, and more than 60% of the isolates were also resistant to chloramphenicol and rifampin. The XI::B::B MRSA clone represented the majority of isolates recovered in most of the hospitals, nine of which were located in the city of Buenos Aires, three in the province of Buenos Aires, and one in the province of Tucuman, 1,312 km northwest of the city of Buenos Aires. The observations document further geographic expansion of this South American MRSA clone across national boundaries.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)277-288
Number of pages12
JournalMicrobial Drug Resistance
Volume4
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 1998

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Spread of a methicillin-resistant and multiresistant epidemic clone of Staphylococcus aureus in Argentina'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this