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PVL-positive MRSA in Austria

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to present, for the first time, an overview of the existing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in Austria and to compare the situation with that found in other countries. Between 2001 and 2006 we analysed 1150 MRSA isolates – from infections as well as from colonisation – for the presence of PVL genes. The most common multilocus sequence types of the 94 PVL-positive MRSA strains were ST8, ST152, ST30, ST80, and ST5; the ST22, and ST777 sequences were also detected. During 2005 and 2006, 3.7–7.7% of the isolates were PVL-positive. The age distribution of the patients revealed that nosocomial MRSA mainly occurs in elderly people, whereas PVL-positive MRSA mainly appears in younger people. We observed a relatively high prevalence of PVL-positive isolates. Several MRSA clones containing the PVL genes are spreading throughout Austria, including two strains not yet widespread in Western Europe.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Wolfgang Witte (Robert-Koch-Institute, Wernigerode, Germany) for providing us MRSA isolates from several different strains. We declare that the experiments comply with the current laws of Austria.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Reference Centre for Nosocomial Infections and Antibiotic Resistance, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology and Tropical Medicine, Elisabethinen Hospital, Fadingerstrasse 1, 4010, Linz, Austria

    K. Krziwanek, C. Luger, B. Sammer, S. Stumvoll, M. Stammler, S. Metz-Gercek & H. Mittermayer

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  1. K. Krziwanek
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  2. C. Luger
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  3. B. Sammer
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  4. S. Stumvoll
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  5. M. Stammler
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  6. S. Metz-Gercek
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  7. H. Mittermayer
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Krziwanek.

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K. Krziwanek and C. Luger contributed equally to this work.

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Krziwanek, K., Luger, C., Sammer, B. et al. PVL-positive MRSA in Austria. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 26, 931–935 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-007-0391-4

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