Unusually high prevalence of nosocomial Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates in Cape Verde Islands

Abstract

Characterization of nosocomial methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus isolates from Cape Verde showed that (i) Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes were present in 35% of the isolates and (ii) half of the collection had the same genetic background as methicillin-resistant pandemic clones. Introduction of the staphylococcal chromosome cassette mec (SCCmec) into virulent and epidemic isolates could pose serious threats to public health.

FIG. 1.

Molecular characterization of MSSA strains and comparison with MRSA pandemic clones. On the left is a dendrogram showing the estimated relationships of PFGE types based on Bionumerics analysis, including representatives of five international pandemic MRSA clones (in bold). (a) The spa type was assigned through both the Egenomics and the Ridom web servers.

FIG. 2.

Clonal distribution between Hospital Baptista de Sousa (Praia, São Tiago) and Hospital Dr. Agostinho Neto (Mindelo, São Vicente).