Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Northwest marine and freshwater recreational beaches

The aim of the study was to determine the spatial distribution of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at two marine and one freshwater recreational beaches in the Seattle area. Fifty-six marine water, 144 freshwater, and 96 sand samples were collected from June through August 2010. Isolates were biochemically verified as MRSA. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulse field gel electrophoresis and the presence of other antibiotic resistance genes were determined. Twenty-two freshwater (15.3%; n = 144), one dry sand (1.9%; n = 53), six wet sand (14%; n = 43), and two marine water samples (3.6%; n = 56) were MRSA positive. Of the 27 freshwater stream sites sampled multiple times, 37% of the sites were positive for MRSA and/or S. aureus ≥ 2 times. Twenty-one (67.7%) of 31 MRSA were SCCmec type IV, 15 (48.4%) of the isolates had MLST types not previously associated with humans, and 29 (93.5%) of the isolates carried other antibiotic resistance genes. This study is the first to report and characterize repeated MRSA-positive samples from freshwater drainages and creeks surrounding popular recreational beaches.