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A major methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone predominates in Malaysian hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2003

A. NORAZAH
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
V. K. E. LIM
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
M. Y. ROHANI
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
H. ALFIZAH
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Y. T. KOH
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A. G. M. KAMEL
Affiliation:
Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Abstract

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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.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press