BACKGROUND It is uncertain whether particular clones causing invasive community-onset methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (cMRSA/cMSSA) infection differ in virulence. METHODS Invasive cMRSA and cMSSA cases were prospectively identified. Principal component analysis was used to derive an illness severity score (ISS) from clinical data, including 30-day mortali...

Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) is a pore-forming, bi-component toxin secreted by Staphylococcus aureus strains epidemiologically associated with diseases such as necrotizing pneumonia and skin and soft-tissue infections. Here we demonstrate that transcription of the phage-encoded PVL (encoded in the luk-PV operon) is dependent on two major determinants: the phage life-cycle and the host chro...

The advent of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has been a worldwide threat to public health for the past decade. We report a fatal case of infective endocarditis caused by a non-USA300, Panton-Valentine leukocidin toxin-negative CA-MRSA clone. This is a serious case of CA-MRSA infection caused by a sequence type (ST) 72 clone, which is one of the common...

A 76-year-old man was admitted to a community hospital due to a persistent high fever. He became afebrile after the administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics, but developed heart failure due to progressive aortic and mitral valve insufficiency and was transferred to our hospital. Although sequential blood cultures were negative, a broad-range polymerase chain reaction targeting the bacterial...

Oligonucleotide probes designed on the basis of the N-terminal sequence of Clostridium perfringens beta-toxin were used to isolate the encoding gene (cpb). The nucleotide sequence of cpb was determined, and on the basis of DNA hybridization experiments it was shown that the gene is found only in type B and C strains of C. perfringens. The deduced amino acid sequence of the beta-toxin revealed h...

This article reports a rare case of necrotizing pneumonia caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) positive Staphylococcus aureus in an HIV-infected patient presenting with severe back pain and rash. The back pain progressed to excruciating abdominal pain which was misleading, resulting in an investigation on intraabdominal conditions. He developed massive hemoptysis and died within 2 days o...