The dominant methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone from hospitals in Cape Town has an unusual genotype: ST612

Abstract

There is currently limited information available on the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South Africa. A molecular characterization of 100 MRSA from five hospitals in Cape Town was carried out in this study. The strains were separated into six clusters by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, indicating transmission of MRSA between local hospitals. None of the strains carried the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin gene. SCCmec typing, multilocus sequence typing and spa typing were used to further characterize the MRSA. Three clones corresponded to frequently described pandemic clones: ST239-MRSA-III, ST36-MRSA-II and ST5-MRSA-I. ST239-MRSA-III and ST36-MRSA-II were minor clones and collectively accounted for 16% of the isolates. ST5-MRSA-I was the second-most prevalent clone and accounted for 37% of the isolates. The dominant local clone was the infrequently described ST612-MRSA-IV (44% of isolates), which has only been described in South Africa and Australia.

Biofilm formation in invasive Staphylococcus aureus isolates is associated with the clonal lineage

“…Certain pandemic MRSA clones are spread worldwide. Recent publications describe the ST612-MRSA-IV clone (MLST CC8) as the most widespread MRSA clone in Cape Town, and South Africa (Jansen van Rensburg et al, 2011;Orth et al, 2013;Oosthuysen et al, 2013;Moodley et al, 2010). In this study ST 612 formed strong biofilms, which may contribute to its dominance in nosocomial infections in South Africa.…”

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): global epidemiology and harmonisation of typing methods

“…CC5 (ST5), CC8 (ST239) and CC30 MRSA clones predominate in Latin America [42]. Recent data from Africa are limited but suggested a predominance of CC8 (ST239 and the infrequently described ST612, found only in South Africa and Australia), CC5 (ST5) and CC30 (ST36) lineages [35,43,44].…”

Clonal lineages detected amongst tetracycline-resistant meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates of a Tunisian hospital, with detection of lineage ST398

“…Therefore, in the 1990s, CC8 (ST239) was extended from South America to Europe and from Thailand to China (Gray et al, 2011). Data from Africa are still limited, but also indicate a predominance of CC8 (ST239 and the infrequently described ST612), CC5 (ST5) and CC30 (ST36) lineages in Africa (Jansen van Rensburg et al, 2011;Breurec et al, 2011;Moodley et al, 2010). It is important to note that other CCs detected in our study (other than CC398), have also been detected in livestock animals; this is the case for CC5 and CC8 (Smith, 2015).…”