Primary Skin Abscesses Are Mainly Caused by Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Strains

Abstract

Background: The role of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) in skin and soft-tissue infections is not clear. Objective: Our purpose was to determine the prevalence of PVL gene carriage among Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from primary and secondary skin abscesses. Methods: A prospective study was conducted. From July 2003 to June 2008, S. aureus isolates from skin abscesses were screened for the PVL genes. The abscesses were considered primary if they occurred on previously healthy skin and secondary in all other cases. Results: Fifty-seven patients presenting with S. aureus skin abscesses were included in the study. The PVL genes were detected in 40 (70%) of the 57 S. aureus isolates. Thirty-eight (92.7%) of the 41 primary skin abscesses were due to PVL-positive strains, compared to only 2 (12.5%) of the 16 secondary skin abscesses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Primary skin abscesses are mainly caused by PVL-positive S. aureus strains.

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive and Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin 1-Positive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus : a French Multicenter Prospective Study in 2008

“…The ST80 European clone was associated with a limited range of cutaneous infections and, to a lesser extent, with pulmonary infections. The sites involved are in agreement with the reported literature and match the polynuclear cytolytic and/or apoptotic activity of PVL (3,6). Conversely, the ST5 Geraldine clone was associated with a wider variety of clinical manifestations, including a few cases of toxic shock syndrome.…”

Staphylococcus aureus toxins – Their functions and genetics

“…PVL genes are found in most CA-MRSA strains, which 8 exhibit increased virulence, e.g. in USA300 (Gillet, Issartel et al 2002;Vandenesch, 9 Naimi et al 2003; Diep, Gill et al 2006;Badiou, Dumitrescu et al 2008;Diep and Otto 10 2008; del Giudice, Blanc et al 2009;Carpaij, Willems et al 2011). CA-MRSA cause typical 11 diseases, namely skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), as well as necrotizing 12 pneumonia.…”

Community-onsetStaphylococcus aureusinfections presenting to general practices in South-eastern Australia

“…There is an emerging view that the biological role of PVL may be to allow direct invasion of human skin so that CA-MRSA may disseminate via clinically active skin infection rather than relying solely on asymptomatic colonization of mucus membranes [33][34][35][36][37]. In support of this view are reports that PVL is less likely to be present in blood culture isolates than isolates obtained from aggressive skin infections or necrotizing pneumonia [26,29].…”