Abstract
The identification of new epidemic strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is essential for rapid, effective infection control. We have developed a typing method which uses antibiotic sensitivity patterns to differentiate methicillin-resistant S. aureus and which is faster and more cost-effective than biochemical analysis or bacteriophage typing. Characterisation of phenotypes which are chromosomally-encoded, plasmid- or chromosomally-encoded or exclusively plasmid-mediated has enabled us to separate Australian strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus into 11 classes, representatives of which were indistinguishable by bacteriophage type, or plasmid profile alone. The value of this procedure is thus clearly shown.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 57-64 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Medical Microbiology |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1990 |