Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clonal types in the Czech Republic

Molecular surveillance studies have documented the extensive spread of meth icillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones. Studies carried out by Centro de Epidemiologia Molecular-Network for Tracking Gram-Positive Pat hogenic Bacteria (CEM/NET) led to the identification of two international m ultidrug-resistant strains, which were designated as the Iberian and Brazil ian MRSA clones and which were defined by multiple genomic typing methods; these included ClaI restriction digests hybridized with mecA- and Tn554-spe cific DNA probes and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The genotypic characteristics of these clones are distinct: the Iberian clone is defined as mecA type I, Tn554 type E (or its variants), and PFGE pattern A (I:E:A) , whereas the Brazilian clone is defined as mecA type XI (or its variants), Tn554 type B, and PFGE pattern B (XI:B:B). In this study, we characterized 59 single-patient isolates of MRSA collected during 1996 and 1997 at seven hospitals located in Prague and five other cities in the Czech Republic by using the methodologies mentioned above and by using ribotyping of EcoRI a nd HindIII digests hybridized with a 16S-23S DNA probe. The Brazilian MRSA clone (XI:B:B) was the major clone (80%) spread in two hospitals located in Prague and one located in Brno; the Iberian MRSA clone (I:E:A or its varia nt I:DD:A), although less representative (12%), was detected in two hospita ls, one in Prague and the other in Plzen. Almost ail the strains belonging to done XI:B:B (45 of 47) corresponded to a unique ribotype, E1H1, whereas most strains of the I:E:A and I:DD:A clonal types (6 of 7) corresponded to ribotype E2H2.