MRSA in children presenting to hospitals in Birmingham, UK .

The study was performed on MRSA isolates from children aged <16 years, identified between March 2004 and December 2004, from three hospitals. Fifty isolates were classified as either community-acquired (CA-MRSA) or hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA). Overall, 31 (62%) MRSA were defined as CA-MRSA. PFGE band pattern and SCCmec analysis were similar to EMRSA 15 for 72% of isolates. Over 80% of isolates contained SCCmec type IV. Genes encoding PVL were not detected. None of the isolates fulfilled the criteria for de-novo CA-MRSA. Journal of Hospital Infection 2007;65:29-34.