This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ross, T. L. Articles by Merz, W. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ross, T. L. Articles by Merz, W. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2005, p. 363-367, Vol. 43, No. 1
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.1.363-367.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus caprae in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

T. L. Ross,¹ E. P. Fuss,^2, S. M. Harrington,¹ M. Cai,¹ T. M. Perl,^2,3 and W. G. Merz^1*

Department of Pathology,¹ Department of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control,² Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland³

Received 2 April 2004/ Returned for modification 17 May 2004/ Accepted 31 August 2004

Staphylococcus caprae, a hemolytic coagulase-negative staphylococcus that is infrequently associated with humans, was initially detected in specimens from six infants in our neonatal intensive care unit due to phenotypic characteristics common to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. These isolates were subsequently identified as S. caprae by the Automated RiboPrinter microbial characterization system. This prompted an 8-month retrospective investigation in our neonatal intensive care unit. S. caprae was the cause of 6 of 18 episodes of coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia, was the most common coagulase-negative staphylococcus recovered from the nares of 6 of 32 infants surveyed in a methicillin-resistant S. aureus surveillance program, and was isolated from 1 of 37 health care providers' hands. Of 13 neonatal intensive care unit isolates tested, all were methicillin resistant and positive for the mecA gene. All 21 isolates were found to be a single strain by Automated RiboPrinter and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with ApaI or SmaI digestion; ApaI was more discriminating in analyzing epidemiologically unrelated strains than Automated RiboPrinter or electrophoresis with SmaI. These findings extend the importance of S. caprae, emphasize its similarities to methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and demonstrate its ability to persist in an intensive care unit setting.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Microbiology, Meyer B1-193, Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287-7093. Phone: (410) 955-5077. Fax: (410) 614-8087. E-mail: wmerz{at}jhmi.edu.

Present address: University of Maryland, Baltimore, Md.

---

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2005, p. 363-367, Vol. 43, No. 1
0095-1137/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.43.1.363-367.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Benedetti, P., Pellizzer, G., Furlan, F., Nicolin, R., Rassu, M., Sefton, A. (2008). Staphylococcus caprae meningitis following intraspinal device infection. J Med Microbiol 57: 904-906 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Weir, D., Jones, C., Ammerman, L., Dybdahl, K., Tomlinson, S. (2007). Report of a Strain of Staphylococcus caprae with the Genes for Enterotoxin A and Enterotoxin-Like Toxin Type P. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 3476-3477 [Full Text]  
• Chaves, F., Garcia-Alvarez, M., Sanz, F., Alba, C., Otero, J. R. (2005). Nosocomial Spread of a Staphylococcus hominis subsp. novobiosepticus Strain Causing Sepsis in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 4877-4879 [Abstract] [Full Text]