Distribution of Major Genotypes among Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clones in Asian Countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT To investigate the evolutionary pattern and genotypic characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in the Asian region, 74 MRSA strains isolated from 12 Asian countries were analyzed by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and SCC mec typing. Overall, a total of 16 genotypes based on sequence type and SCC mec types were identified among MRSA strains from Asian countries. Data revealed two major genotypes of MRSA strains in Asia, with unique geographic distributions. By MLST analysis, all strains from Korea and Japan except one belonged to clonal complex 5 (CC5) while most MRSA isolates from other Asian countries belonged to CC239. SCC mec typing showed that most isolates from Korea and Japan were SS mec type II whereas SCC mec type III (or IIIA) was the most common type in strains from other Asian countries. Our data documented a unique geographic distribution and evolutionary pattern of MRSA clones in Asia.