Ventilator-associated Pneumonia and MRSA ST398, Italy
To the Editor: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sequence type (ST)398 has become increasingly common in livestock, particularly pigs, in some countries in Europe, such as Spain and Germany (1). In Italy, prevalences as high as 14% and 21.6% in pig-breeding facilities and meat-processing sites, respectively, have been recently reported (1). Possible association of MRSA in animals with infection in humans has been investigated. One study showed a strong relationship between contact with pigs or calves and carriage by persons having direct contact with animals and families of persons who handle animals (2). Moreover, an MRSA prevalence >11.9% has been described by de Boer et …
A combined molecular typing approach does not discriminate Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 strains of a predominant sequence-based type in Palermo, Italy
Summary: The sequence-based type 1,4,3,1,1,1 of Legionella pneumophila sg.1 is predominant in the Palermo city environment since several years. In this study, extended sequence-based typing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis were used in a combined approach in the aim to enhance discriminatory power of the molecular typing procedures. However, probably due to a common environmental reservoir and genetic stability, most of the strains circulating in the geographic area under study belong to the same clone and are, consequently, indistinguishable by molecular typing. Investigations of clinical cases and tracing to their environmental source require caution and support from sound epidemiolog…