Volume 12, Number 2—February 2006
Research
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clones, Western Australia
Geoffrey W. Coombs*†, Julie C. Pearson*, Frances G. O'Brien†, Ronan J. Murray*, Warren B. Grubb†, and Keryn J. Christiansen*†
Table 1
Characteristics of EMRSA clones* (of 4,099 total MRSA isolates), Western Australia, July 1, 2003–December 31, 2004
| Clone | CHEF pattern (pulsotypes) | n (% of total MRSA) | CC | Urease | Coagulase PCR RFLP pattern | PVL toxin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST22-MRSA-IV | EMRSA-15 | 719 (17.54) | 22 | Neg | 22 | Neg |
| ST239-MRSA-III | Aus-2 EMRSA | 95 (2.32) | 8 | Pos | 24 | Neg |
| Aus-3 EMRSA | 57 (1.39) | 8 | Pos | 24 | Neg | |
| ST8-MRSA-IVp | Irish-2 EMRSA | 20 (0.49) | 8 | Neg | 18 | Neg |
| ST36-MRSA-II | EMRSA-16 | 16 (0.39) | 30 | Pos | 18 | Neg |
| ST5-MRSA-II | New York/Japan EMRSA | 11 (0.27) | 5 | Pos | 36 | Neg |
| ST8-MRSA-IIv | Irish-1 EMRSA | 2 (0.05) | 8 | Neg | 18 | Neg |
| ST250-MRSA-I | Classic MRSA | 1 (0.02) | 8 | Pos | 18 | Neg |
| Total | 921 (22.47) |
*EMRSA, epidemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; CHEF, contour-clamped homogeneous electric field; CC, clonal complex; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; RFLP, restriction fragment length polymorphisms; PVL, Panton-Valentine leukocidin; MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; p, pediatric; v, variant.
