Prevalence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates phenotypically consistent with community-acquired MRSA, 1999–2007, Vienna General Hospital

The purpose of this study was to investigate methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates with antibiotic resistance restricted to beta-lactam antibiotics and variable resistance to fusidic acid for the presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes. Our data show that the selected resistance pattern is found rarely among MRSA isolates in our hospital, but it appears that this phenotype consistent with typical community-acquired (ca) MRSA is indicative of PVL-positive MRSA.