Tracing MRSA in Households With Patients Infected With CA-MRSA by WGS

From the 1980s to the late 1990s, highly toxic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains (called community-associated \[CA\] MRSA) appeared in the community. Although the prevalence of HA-MRSA (health-related MRSA) infection remained stable between 1998 and 2008, the CA-MRSA (community-related MRSA) infection rate increased. By far, the most common manifestations of CA-MRSA related diseases are skin and soft tissue infections. Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) account for at least 90% of CA-MRSA infections. CA-MRSA strains also cause bone and joint infections, such as osteomyelitis and respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, sepsis, and urinary tract infections. Given that Staphylococcus aureus can live in the home as a settler or environmental pollutant, the environment can be used as a medium for obtaining and transmitting MRSA. In addition, transmission of MRSA between pets and humans has been proposed, but the directionality is unclear. In this study, we report an in-depth epidemiological and genomics study of a community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in SSRSH, Zhejiang Province, China.