Comparative molecular analysis of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from children with atopic dermatitis and healthy subjects in Taiwan

• Published in: British journal of dermatology (1951) Vol. 162; no. 5; pp. 1110 - 1116
• Main Authors: Lo, W-T., Wang, S-R., Tseng, M-H., Huang, C-F., Chen, S-J., Wang, C-C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2010; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Adolescent; atopic dermatitis (AD); Bacterial diseases; Bacterial Toxins - genetics; Bacterial Typing Techniques - methods; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; children; Dermatitis, Atopic - complications; Dermatitis, Atopic - microbiology; Dermatology; Exotoxins - genetics; Female; General aspects; Genes, Bacterial; Genotype; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Leukocidins - genetics; Male; Medical sciences; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); Microbial Sensitivity Tests - methods; molecular characteristics; Nasal Cavity - microbiology; Soft Tissue Infections - complications; Soft Tissue Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal Infections - complications; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal infections, streptococcal infections, pneumococcal infections; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - complications; Staphylococcal Skin Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus; Taiwan; Asia; Taiwan; Human; Allergy; Immunopathology; Skin disease; Healthy subject; Dermatology; molecular characteristics; meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); Atopy; Infection; Characteristics; Atopic dermatitis; children; Taiwan; Bacteriosis; atopic dermatitis (AD); Bacteria; Micrococcales; Micrococcaceae; Staphylococcal infection; Child; Comparative study; Staphylococcus aureus
• ISSN: 0007-0963; 1365-2133; 1365-2133
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2010.09679.x

Summary Background  Children with atopic dermatitis (AD) are more frequently colonized by Staphylococcus aureus than healthy children. Objectives  To assess whether any relationship exists between nasal meticillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA) colonization and subsequent skin and soft‐tissue infections (SSTI). Patients and methods  From 2005 through 2006, comparative molecular analyses of 23 MRSA‐colonizing isolates from 133 children with AD, 44 MRSA‐colonizing isolates from 490 healthy controls, and 12 MRSA‐infecting isolates from 20 children with AD and concurrent SSTI were conducted. Results  Nasal MRSA colonization in children with AD was significantly higher compared with normal individuals (17·3% vs. 9·0%; P = 0·01). The molecular characteristics differed significantly between the MRSA isolates from children with AD and the MRSA‐colonizing isolates from healthy controls. The clone characterized as sequence type (ST)59 (338)/pulsotype B/staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) VT/Panton–Valentine leucocidin (PVL)‐positive/staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)‐positive accounted for half of the MRSA isolates from children with AD, and another clone, characterized as ST59/pulsotype A/SCCmec IV/PVL‐negative/SEB‐positive accounted for 61% of the MRSA‐colonizing isolates from healthy controls. Conclusions  We found MRSA colonizing the anterior nares of a large number of Taiwanese children, especially among those with AD. Analysis of our data provides evidence that links MRSA‐colonizing isolates to MRSA‐infecting isolates from concurrent SSTI in children with AD.