Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST80-IV clone in children from Jordan

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of infections that are becoming increasingly difficult to combat because of emerging resistance. In this study, 103 S. aureus, 41 MRSA and 62 methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolates, were collected from children in Jordan. Genotyping based on spa and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) revealed 48 different spa types and identified distinct allelic profiles or STs, with the majority belonging to ST80. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of 15 different spa types revealed 8 different PFGE types, while SCCmec showed the predominance (53%) of subtype IV. Clustering SCCmec along with MLST revealed that ST80-MRSA-IV was the dominant type. Results obtained suggest that a significant amount of clonal spread is occurring in Jordan. The mechanism of spread of the ST80-IV clone is not known, and control measures are needed to reduce further spread of this or of other clones among children in Jordan.