Community-Acquired Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus Causes Outbreaks of Skin Infections, Too

An outbreak of skin infections was caused by a unique strain of CA-MSSA that was similar to the USA300 clone of methicillin-resistant S. aureus.

Most community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) skin infections in the U.S. have been attributed to the USA300 clone. Recently, however, some skin infections have been caused by community-acquired methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (CA-MSSA) strains that are similar to the USA300 strain of CA-MRSA. In this report, investigators describe an outbreak of such infections among 8 (7%) of 110 members of a U.S. college football team in the fall of 2007.

The infections occurred during a 55-day period and caused skin abscesses in all eight cases. The isolates were susceptible to oxacillin but resistant to both erythromycin and ciprofloxacin. They were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and shared several …

Reviewing Author

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)