International clones of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in two hospitals in Miami, Florida

A total of 202 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) single-patient isolates recovered between January and June 1998 in two hospitals in Miami, Florida, were characterized by a combination of several molecular typing techniques: multilocus sequence typing, spaA typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and determination of the structure of the SCCmec element. The overwhelming majority of the isolates-187 of 202, or 93%-belonged to one of three internationally spread epidemic clones which were identified on the basis of their multilocus sequence type (ST) as E-MRSA-16 (ST36), the New York clone V (ST8), and the New York/Japan clone (ST5; SCCmec II) and its single- and double-locus variants. The rest of the isolates (15 of 202, or 7%) were more genetically diverse and were each recovered from a few patients only. Of the 23 MRSA strains isolated from confirmed human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, as many as 17 (or 70%) belonged to a single ST8 clone carrying SCCmec type IV. The data provide further evidence for the conclusion of earlier studies that most MRSA disease in hospitals is caused by relatively few pandemic clones.