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 |
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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 |