DIVERSITY OF spa TYPES AMONG MRSA ISOLATES FROM MARIBOR UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Abstract

Background Typing of pathogens is an important part in control and prevention of health care-associ- ated infections. For methilcillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) a new sequence-based and eas- ily internationally comparable typing method, spa typing, was recently described. We have used this method to analyze the MRSA types present in our hospital and to compare them with types reported elsewhere. Methods 63 MRSA strains isolated from patients in Maribor University Hospital (MUH) during the year 2006 were spa typed. Typing data were compared to the patient hospitalization data to detect possible spatial and temporal clusters. Results Sixty-three MRSA strains were distributed into 12 spa types. Seven spa types were represent- ed only by a single isolate. The three most prevalent types (t001, t288, t003) included 80 % of all strains. The most prevalent type, t001, was present in many different wards and during entire year. This type is also one of the mostly isolated types worldwide. High pre- valence of other two types seems to be associated with small scale transmission events. Conclusions Most of the spa types present in MUH are well known and widespread also elsewhere in Slovenia, in other EU countries and worldwide. Typing has helped us to follow the intro- duction of different MRSA types to the hospital environment and to detect occasional trans- missions.