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

A.M. Bal (1) , G.W. Coombs , M.T.G. Holden , J.A. Lindsay , G.R. Nimmo , P. Tattevin (2, 3) , R.L. Skov

1 Department of Medical Microbiology
2 Service des maladies infectieuses et réanimation médicale [Rennes] = Infectious Disease and Intensive Care [Rennes]
3 Fonction, structure et inactivation d'ARN bactériens

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. © 2016 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mots clés: MRSA epidemiology; MRSA clones; Whole-genome sequencing

Domaines: Maladies infectieuses

A.M. Bal, G.W. Coombs, M.T.G. Holden, J.A. Lindsay, G.R. Nimmo, et al.. 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, 2016, 6, pp.95--101. ⟨10.1016/j.jgar.2016.04.004⟩. ⟨hal-01370866⟩