Genomic insights into the emergence and spread of international clones of healthcare-, community- and livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus : blurring of the traditional definitions
Abstract
The evolution of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from meticillin-susceptible S. aureus has been a result of the accumulation of genetic elements under selection pressure from antibiotics. The traditional classification of MRSA into healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) and community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) is no longer relevant as there is significant overlap of identical clones between these groups, with an increasing recognition of human infection caused by livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA). Genomic studies have enabled us to model the epidemiology of MRSA along these lines. In this review, we discuss the clinical relevance of genomic studies, particularly whole-genome sequencing, in the investigation of outbreaks. We also discuss the blurring of each of the three epidemiological groups (HA-MRSA, CA-MRSA and LA-MRSA), demonstrating the limited relevance of this classification.
Citation
Bal , A M , Coombs , G W , Holden , M T G , Lindsay , J A , Nimmo , G R , Tattevin , P & Skov , R L 2016 , ' Genomic insights into the emergence and spread of international clones of healthcare-, community- and livestock-associated meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus : blurring of the traditional definitions ' , Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance , vol. 6 , pp. 95-101 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgar.2016.04.004
Publication
Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2213-7165Type
Journal item
Collections
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