There is a pattern emerging of community strains of 398 among people who do not work with pigs or chickens. While some feel this may come from the food chain there is often a chinese link. This may suggest a large community pool of 398 in China
We report 2 patients infected with Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)–positive MRSA t034. Each patient had a medical history typical of that reported for community-acquired MRSA of other lineages, which in most cases are PVL positive (8).
The first patient, a previously healthy 36-year-old male physiotherapist, sought medical care in March 2006 for a small abscess in his axilla. Culture of the abscess grew MRSA. Presence of mecA gene was confirmed by PCR (9). During the next 2 months, furunculous developed twice, caused by the same strain. His youngest child, adopted from China, had been found to be MRSA positive (throat, perineum, and a small wound) a month earlier during routine screening for adopted children. During subsequent screening of the family, the older sister, adopted from South Korea, was also found positive (throat). Both parents were negative for MRSA at that time, which suggests that the father was newly infected when his abscess developed and that he had not acquired the strain abroad. Also, spa typing indicated that the children carried different strains from that of the father and from each other (t286, t1434) (10). Subsequent screening of family members for MRSA on several occasions found only the father to be repeatedly positive.
The second patient, a 43-year-old male clerk, also previously healthy, sought medical attention during the summer of 2007 for a MRSA-infected elbow wound. Follow-up examination determined that he carried MRSA also in the perineum and in a chronic external otitis eczema. He was later hospitalized for a larger abscess that required surgical drainage. His family members reported no symptoms and were thus not screened for MRSA.
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