1. A major methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone predominates in Malaysian hospitals.
- Author
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Norazah A, Lim VK, Rohani MY, Alfizah H, Koh YT, and Kamel AG
- Subjects
- Cross Infection microbiology, DNA, Bacterial genetics, Drug Resistance, Multiple, Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field, Humans, Malaysia epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, Staphylococcal Infections microbiology, Staphylococcus aureus classification, Cross Infection epidemiology, Methicillin Resistance genetics, Staphylococcal Infections epidemiology, Staphylococcus aureus genetics
- Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the molecular epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Malaysian hospitals. A total of 264 MRSA isolates from eight hospitals were subjected to typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI restricted DNA. Antibiotic disk susceptibility testing was also carried out to determine their resistance patterns. Thirty-one PFGE pattern types were identified. Three major pattern types A, ZC and K were found with type A the predominant profile in c. 80% of strains and present in all hospitals. Unlike type A, other DNA pattern types were unique to the hospitals in which they were isolated. PFGE type A also consisted of strains that were multiply antibiotic resistant. The presence of a single predominant PFGE type in Malaysian hospitals is an important finding which suggests that inter-hospital spread of MRSA had occurred frequently and regularly.
- Published
- 2003
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