Invasive and skin community-associated (CA)-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from children were matched with invasive CA-methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strains during 2000-2004. Isolates were analyzed for presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin. A USA400 lineage clone (n = 6) and the predominant USA300 lineage clone emerged.

UNLABELLED Staphylococcus aureus is a formidable human pathogen that uses secreted cytolytic factors to injure immune cells and promote infection of its host. Of these proteins, the bicomponent family of pore-forming leukocidins play critical roles in S. aureus pathogenesis. The regulatory mechanisms governing the expression of these toxins are incompletely defined. In this work, we performed a...

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection is an emerging community pathogen. Community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) has been associated with virulent strains producing Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) and a variety of other exotoxins. In Geneva, PVL-producing CA-MRSA was first reported in 2002 and a surveillance system based on voluntary reporting was set up.

test; bioMérieux). DNA was extracted from cultures grown on agar plates and amplified following a previously described protocol (1). The following oligonucleotide primer sequences were used: luk-PV1, 5′-ATCATTAGGTAAAATGTCTGGACATGATCCA-3′; luk-PV2, 5′-GCATCAAGTGTAT T G G ATA G C A A A A G C 3 ′ . Polymerase chain reaction products were sequenced commercially and submitted to GenBank (accession n...

background:   methicillin-resistant   staphylococcus   aureus  (mrsa)   is  a major cause of nosocomial and community infections that are becoming increasingly difficult to combat, because of emerging resistance to all classes of antibiotics. moreover panton-valentine  leukocidin (pvl) is an important virulence factor in s. aureus and causes white blood cell destruction, necrosis and  accelerat...

Cases of skin infections caused by Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-positive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), particularly USA300 clone, have been increasing in Japan. We report that clinical findings 5 patients with PVL-positive MRSA and compared to those four PVL-negative MRSA. Severities were significantly higher than Average durations antimicrobial therapy for 3.4-fold l...

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent cause of skin and soft-tissue infections and is increasingly identified as a cause of pneumonia in immunocompetent patients. Panton-Valentine leukocidin, one of several leukocytotoxic peptides secreted by these cocci, is associated with increased virulence. A cluster of 3 unrelated patients with fatal pneumonia presu...