J Korean Med Sci.  2008 Oct;23(5):762-766. 10.3346/jkms.2008.23.5.762.

Epidemiological and Genetic Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from the Ear Discharge of Outpatients with Chronic Otitis Media

• Yang JA
• Kim JY
• Yoon YK
• Kim S
• Park DW
• Sohn JW
• Sim HS
• Kim MJ

• KMID: 1783057
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2008.23.5.762

Abstract

The origin of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from otolaryngology outpatients has not been evaluated yet in Korea. We analyzed epidemiologic and genetic characteristics of MRSA isolates from the ear discharge of 64 outpatients with chronic otitis media in a Korean University Hospital during 2004. MRSA strains were grouped as either from the initial visit (n=33) or the follow-up visit (n=31) based on the timing of isolation. Healthcare-associated risk factors were frequently present among patients of the initial visit group, especially prior visit to primary clinic (79%) and antibiotic use (73%). SCCmec typing and multilocus sequence typing results showed that two genotypes, ST5-MRSA-II and ST239-MRSAIII, were prevalent in both the initial visit (73% vs. 24%) and the follow-up visit (55% vs. 42%). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified eight types, including two major types shared by both groups. We conclude that majority of MRSA strains from ear discharge of chronic otitis media belonged to nosocomial clones that might be circulating in the community. This is the first report of the genetic analysis of MRSA strains from otolaryngology practices in Korea.

Keyword

Methicillin Resistance; Staphylococcus aureus; Otolaryngology; Epidemiology; Genotype

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Child
Child, Preschool
Chronic Disease
Female
Genotype
Humans
Infant
Male
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/*genetics
Middle Aged
Otitis Media, Suppurative/complications/epidemiology/*microbiology
Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
Risk Factors
Staphylococcal Infections/complications/epidemiology/*microbiology

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Dendrogram and SmaI-PFGE banding patterns generated from 8 different PFGE types (A to H) with subtypes of 64 MRSA isolates. The numbers in the right indicate distribution of PFGE types based on timing of isolation (the initial visit vs. the follow-up visit). The scale in the upper left indicates the coefficient of similarity.

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