J Med Microbiol 58 (2009), 1213-1218; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.011353-0
© 2009 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 0022-2615
Characteristics of community- and hospital-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains carrying SCCmec type IV isolated in Malaysia
Norazah Ahmad1,
Izayu Nurfarha Ruzan1,
Mohamed Kamel Abd Ghani2,
Azura Hussin3,
Salbiah Nawi4,
Mohamad Nazri Aziz5,
Nurahan Maning6 and
Victor Lim Kok Eow7
1 Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3 Department of Microbiology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Sabah, Malaysia
4 Department of Microbiology, Selayang Hospital, Selangor, Malaysia
5 Department of Microbiology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6 Department of Microbiology, Kota Bharu Hospital, Kelantan, Malaysia
7 International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Correspondence
Norazah Ahmad
norazah{at}imr.gov.my
Received March 25, 2009
Accepted May 13, 2009
Community-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) occurring among hospital isolates in Malaysia has not been reported previously. As CA-MRSA reported worldwide has been shown to carry SCCmec types IV and V, the aim of this study was to determine the SCCmec types of MRSA strains collected in Malaysia from November 2006 to June 2008. From a total of 628 MRSA isolates, 20 were SCCmec type IV, whilst the rest were type III. Further characterization of SCCmec type IV strains revealed 11 sequence types (STs), including ST22, with the majority being ST30/Panton–Valentine leukocidin positive. Eight out of nine CA-MRSA were ST30, one was ST80, and all were sensitive to co-trimoxazole and gentamicin. Five new STs designated ST1284, ST1285, ST1286, ST1287 and ST1288 were discovered, suggesting the emergence of novel clones of MRSA circulating in Malaysian hospitals. The discovery of the ST22 strain is a cause for concern because of its ability to replace existing predominant clones in certain geographical regions.
Copyright © 2009 Society for General Microbiology.