Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureus, Geneva, Switzerland, 1993–2005

Abstract

Molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains different from those of an endemic healthcare-associated clone was conducted over 13 years in Geneva, Switzerland. We demonstrated strain diversity, including clones rarely found in Europe. Local epidemiology of community-associated MRSA is diverse and is evolving by importation and transmission of new strains.

Emergence of SCCmec Type IV as the Most Common Type of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a University Hospital

“…In Geneva, another Swiss town, the most frequent MRSA strains were of SCCmec type I (86%) followed by type IV (11%), whereas other types were detected only on rare occasions [25]. However, similar to our observation, the number of type IV isolates has considerably increased during the last years [23]. The latter study analyzed a highly selective strain collection of non-multidrug-resistant and community-acquired MRSA, including those from epidemics.…”

Emergence of SCC mec Type IV and SCC mec Type V Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Containing the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Genes in a Large Academic Teaching Hospital in Central Switzerland: External Invaders or Persisting Circulators?

“…Surprisingly, we identified much higher rates of PVL-positive MRSA strains (28%) than the ones reported from other European countries (3 to 15%) (28,50) or from other Swiss urban areas (Basel, 1%; Zurich, 5%) (44,47). The only study recording high proportions (35%) of PVL-positive strains comes from Geneva (2002 to 2005), but it was performed with a highly selective collection of non-multidrug-resistant CA-MRSA strains (17). In our study, PVL was strongly associated with SCCmec type V (83%) and, to a lesser extent, type IV (21%).…”

“…Although the average prevalence of MRSA strains in Switzerland has been lower than that in the surrounding countries-between 0 and 6% of the first isolates of S. aureus recovered, except in Geneva, where the rate is 20% (2,17,19)-the incidence of MRSA infections is increasing. Even though there are epidemiological data for MRSA in Switzerland (2,17,20,44,47), the extent of the problem in the central part of Switzerland is unknown.…”

“…Even though there are epidemiological data for MRSA in Switzerland (2,17,20,44,47), the extent of the problem in the central part of Switzerland is unknown. In this study, we aimed at assessing the frequency, diversity, and clonal distribution of MRSA strains that were isolated at the Luzerner Kantonsspital (LUKS) between January 2007 and December 2008, in order to elucidate their origin and ways of circulation within our institution.…”

First Detection of an Invasive Staphylococcus aureus Strain (D958) with Reduced Susceptibility to Glycopeptides in Saudi Arabia

“…In addition, multilocus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA) was used to evaluate the genomic content of strains as previously described (20,32). MLVA was performed with 10 primer pairs targeting different loci with limited variability in the number of repeats, and the results showed higher resolution than that obtained by MLST, allowing subclustering of clonal complexes defined by using MLST (19). The reference strains obtained from the NARSA collection (http://www.narsa.net/) were USA100 to USA800 and included two fully sequenced strains, USA300 and USA400.…”