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Spread of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST80 strain in the community of the northern Netherlands.

Stam-Bolink EM, Mithoe D, Baas WH, Arends JP, Möller AV

Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, Van Ketwich Verschuurlaan 92, 9721, SW, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are emerging as a major public health problem. In this study, we describe the distribution of 54 Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL)-carrying MRSA isolates in the northern Netherlands between 1998 and 2005, of which 43 (80%) consisted of the European PVL-positive strain multi locus sequence type 80 with staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVc (ST80). Individual cases and small clusters of ST80 predominated in the community (74%), but ST80 was also found in nursing homes (16%) and hospitals (9%). Long-term carriership (months to years) and reinfection of patients with ST80 has probably led to the strain spreading in the community and subsequently to further migration to health care environments.

Published 5 September 2007 in Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis, 26(10): 723-7.
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