Jae Hoon SongPo Ren HsuehDoo Ryeon ChungKwan Soo KoCheol In KangKyong Ran PeckJoon Sup YeomShin Woo KimHyun Ha ChangYeon Sook KimSook In JungJun Seong SonThomas Man-Kit SoM. K. LalithaYonghong YangShao Guang HuangHui WangQuan LuCelia C. CarlosJennifer A. PereraCheng Hsun ChiuJien Wei LiuAnan ChongthaleongVisanu ThamlikitkulPham Hung VanSungKyunKwan University, School of MedicineAsia Pacific Foundation for Infectious Diseases (APFID)National Taiwan University HospitalKyungpook National University HospitalChungnam National University, College of MedicineChonnam National University, College of MedicineKyung Hee Medical CenterPrincess Margaret Hospital Hong KongChristian Medical College, VelloreBeijing Children's HospitalRuijin HospitalPeking Union Medical CollegeShanghai Children's Medical CenterGokilaUniversity of ColomboChang Gung Children's HospitalChang Gung University College of MedicineChulalongkorn UniversityMahidol UniversityUniversity of Medicine and Pharmacy2018-05-032018-05-032011-05-01Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Vol.66, No.5 (2011), 1061-106914602091030574532-s2.0-79954590115https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/12533Objectives: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is highly prevalent in hospitals in many Asian countries. Recent emergence of community-associated (CA) MRSA worldwide has added another serious concern to the epidemiology of S. aureus infections. To understand the changing epidemiology of S. aureus infections in Asian countries, we performed a prospective, multinational surveillance study with molecular typing analysis. Methods: We evaluated the prevalence of methicillin resistance in S. aureus isolates in CA and healthcareassociated (HA) infections, and performed molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility tests of MRSA isolates. Results: MRSA accounted for 25.5% of CA S. aureus infections and 67.4% of HA infections. Predominant clones of CA-MRSA isolates were ST59-MRSA-SCCmec type IV-spa type t437, ST30-MRSA-SCCmec type IV-spa type t019 and ST72-MRSA-SCCmec type IV-spa type t324. Previously established nosocomial MRSA strains including sequence type (ST) 239 and ST5 clones were found among CA-MRSA isolates from patients without any risk factors for HA-MRSA infection. CA-MRSA clones such as ST59, ST30 and ST72 were also isolated from patients with HA infections. Conclusions: Our findings confirmed that MR SA infections in the community have been increasing in Asian countries. Data also suggest that various MRSA clones have spread between the community and hospitals as well as between countries. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.Mahidol UniversityMedicinePharmacology, Toxicology and PharmaceuticsArticleSCOPUS10.1093/jac/dkr024