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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 07 1995, 1769-1774, Vol 33, No. 7
Copyright © 1995 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phenotypic characterization of epidemic versus sporadic strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

WJ Van Wamel, AC Fluit, T Wadstrom, H van Dijk, J Verhoef and CM Vandenbroucke- Grauls
Eijkman-Winkler Institute for Medical and Clinical Microbiology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Forty strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were divided on the basis of their epidemiologic behavior into two subgroups, sporadic MRSA (SMRSA) and epidemic MRSA (EMRSA) strains. The strains were examined for binding of 125I-labelled fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen, Fc fragments of immunoglobulin G, and fibrinogen. A significant difference between EMRSA and SMRSA strains was found for binding of 125I-labelled fibrinogen and for Fc fragments of immunoglobulin G, (P < 0.05). No significant difference in the binding of 125I-labelled fibronectin and collagen was found between EMRSA and SMRSA strains. The binding of 125I-labelled vitronectin to MRSA strains was found to be aspecific. Capsular serotypes of the strains were determined with monoclonal antibodies against capsular types 5 and 8. Strains could be divided into the following four groups: types 5, 8, and 5/8 and nontypeable. More nontypeable strains were found in the EMRSA group (66.6%). Significantly more EMRSA strains (79%) than SMRSA strains (44%) produced alpha-toxin (P < 0.025). Logistic regression analysis using a combination of the parameters 125I- labelled immunoglobulin G binding, capsular type, and alpha-toxin production predicted the epidemic character with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 75%.

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