Molecular Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus among Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Two Chinese Hospitals

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the predominant causes of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), but limited data were available regarding the characterization ofS. aureus from SSTIs patients in Jiangsu Province in China. We aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology ofS. aureus among SSTIs patients in two hospitals of Jiangsu Province.Methods: Sixty-two patients with SSTIs from two Chinese hospitals in Jiangsu Province were enrolled in this study, and 62S. aureus isolates were collected from February 2014 to January 2015.S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, toxin gene detection, and molecular typing with sequence type, Staphylococcus protein A gene type, accessory gene regulator (agr) group, and Staphylococcal cassette chromosomemec type.Results: Sixteen (25.8%) methicillin-resistantS. aureus (MRSA) isolates were detected, and there was no isolate found resistant to vancomycin, teicoplanin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, and linezolid. Thesei was the toxin gene most frequently found, and nolukS/F-PV-positive isolates were detected among the SSTIs’ patients. Molecular analysis revealed that ST398 (10/62, 16.1%; 2 MRSA and 8 methicillin-susceptibleS. aureus) to be the dominant clone, followed by ST5 (8/62, 12.9%) and ST7 (8/62, 12.9%).Conclusions: The livestock ST398 was the most common clone among patients withS. aureus SSTIs in Jiangsu Province, China. Surveillance and further studies on the important livestock ST398 clone in human infections are necessarily requested.