Spread of Epidemic MRSA-ST5-IV Clone Encoding PVL as a Major Cause of Community Onset Staphylococcal Infections in Argentinean Children

Abstract

The dissemination of epidemic MRSA clone, ST5-IV-PVL(+) was the main cause of increasing staphylococcal community-onset infections in Argentinean children (2003-2008), conversely to other countries. The predominance of this clone, which has capacity to express the h-VISA phenotype, in healthcare-associated community-onset cases suggests that it has infiltrated into hospital-settings.