Analysis of a mini-outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusin a surgical ward by using arbitrarily primed-polymerase chain reaction

resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates from a surgical ward at Hac ettepe University Hospital. All MRSA isolates obtained from clinical specim ens in this ward (14 MRSA isolates from wound cultures of 10 patients) were collected prospectively for 10 weeks. Surveillance cultures were taken fro m ward personnel (nose cultures from 4 physicians, 7 nurses, 1 secretary, 1 waiter), 2 surgical dressing containers and 1 nebulizer, MRSA was isolated from one of the surgical dressing containers, the nebulizer and nose cultu res of 3 physicians, 3 nurses and the ward secretary. Arbitrarily primed po lymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) analysis showed that most MRSA isolates be longed to 2 major clones (pattern A, pattern B), Pattern A was the most fre quent one and was present in 4 clinical isolates, surgical dressing contain er-1. Pattern B was identified in 3 clinical isolates and nose culture of p hysician-3, AP-PCR analysis revealed that this mini-MRSA outbreak was cause d by contamination of surgical dressing container with MRSA and nasal MRSA carriage in ward staff. AP-PCR seems to be a valuable typing method for ana lysis of nosocomial MRSA outbreaks because of ifs simplicity and rapidity.