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Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
12:18

Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Published on: February 9, 2011

Epidemiological characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from children with eczematous

Hee-Jung Chung1, Hong-Seon Jeon, Heungsup Sung

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, 388-1 Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul 138-736, Republic of Korea.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology
|January 5, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) frequently colonizes children with atopic dermatitis (AD). These community-acquired MRSA strains, often found without typical risk factors, suggest AD skin is a significant reservoir for MRSA.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Dermatology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Atopic dermatitis (AD) is associated with increased risk of skin infections.
  • Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a significant pathogen in community and healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of MRSA colonization in pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) patients.
  • To characterize the genetic and molecular features of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolates from AD skin lesions.

Main Methods:

  • Culturing of skin lesions from 115 pediatric AD patients.
  • Antimicrobial susceptibility testing, gene analysis (eta, etb, tst, pvl), agr polymorphism, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing of S. aureus isolates.

Main Results:

  • S. aureus was isolated from 75.4% of patients; 18.3% of these were MRSA.
  • MRSA isolates belonged to three distinct clones, with SCCmec types IV and IIb identified.
  • MSSA isolates showed greater diversity, with some carrying eta or tst genes.

Conclusions:

  • Community-acquired MRSA colonizes children with AD, often without traditional risk factors.
  • The skin of pediatric AD patients may serve as a crucial reservoir for MRSA in the community.
  • Few MRSA clones were responsible for colonization, indicating potential for targeted interventions.

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