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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 430-438, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.430-438.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Molecular Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis Clones: Evidence of Geographic Dissemination
Maria Miragaia,1 Isabel Couto,1,2 Sandro F. F. Pereira,1 Karl G. Kristinsson,3 Henrik Westh,4 Jens O. Jarløv,5 João Carriço,6 Jonas Almeida,6,7 Ilda Santos-Sanches,1,8 and Hermínia de Lencastre1,9*
Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica
Biomathematics Laboratory, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras,6
Centro de Recursos Microbiológicos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia,2
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Monte de Caparica, Portugal,8
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Landspitali-University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland,3
Hvidovre Hospital, Hvidovre,4
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, Denmark,5
Department of Biometry and Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina ,7
Laboratory of Microbiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York9
Received 30 July 2001/
Returned for modification 22 September 2001/
Accepted 28 November 2001
Denmark and Iceland are countries where the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is very low due to strict infection control and restrictive antibiotic use policies. In contrast, methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) continues to be isolated as a nosocomial pathogen. The molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of 136 MRSE isolates from five hospitals in Denmark and 94 MRSE isolates from one hospital in Iceland collected in 1997 and 1998 defined 40 different patterns. Closely related PFGE types were found in isolates recovered in Iceland, Denmark, Mexico, Uruguay, Greece, and Cape Verde, evidencing for the first time the geographic clonal dissemination of MRSE strains. The large majority (87.4%) of the MRSE isolates studied were multiresistant.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 327-8278. Fax: (212) 327-8688. E-mail:
lencash{at}mail.rockefeller.edu.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 430-438, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.430-438.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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