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  • Title: Severe community-onset pneumonia in healthy adults caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying the Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes.
    Author: Francis JS, Doherty MC, Lopatin U, Johnston CP, Sinha G, Ross T, Cai M, Hansel NN, Perl T, Ticehurst JR, Carroll K, Thomas DL, Nuermberger E, Bartlett JG.
    Journal: Clin Infect Dis; 2005 Jan 01; 40(1):100-7. PubMed ID: 15614698.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Recent worldwide reports of community-onset skin abscesses, outbreaks of furunculosis, and severe pneumonia associated with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carrying Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes and the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type IV indicate that MRSA infections are evolving into a community-related problem. The majority of cases reported to date involve skin and soft-tissue infections, with severe pneumonia representing a relatively rare phenomenon. During a 2-month period in the winter of 2003-2004, four healthy adults presented to 1 of 2 Baltimore hospitals with severe necrotizing MRSA pneumonia in the absence of typical risk factors for MRSA infection. METHODS: Patients' MRSA isolates were characterized by strain typing with use of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and SCCmec typing with use of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay and detection of PVL genes by PCR. RESULTS: All 4 patients' MRSA isolates carried the PVL genes and the SCCmec type IV element and belonged to the USA300 pulsed-field type. These 3 findings are among the typical characteristics of community-onset MRSA strains. In addition, 2 of our patients had concomitant influenza A diagnosed, which likely contributed to the severity of their presentation. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, these patients represent the first reported North American adults with severe community-onset MRSA pneumonia caused by strains carrying the PVL genes.
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