ST8:USA300 is a
strain of community-associated
methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA) that has emerged as a particularly
antibiotic resistant epidemic that is responsible for rapidly progressive, fatal diseases including
necrotizing pneumonia,
severe sepsis
Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
and
necrotizing fasciitis.
The
epidemiology of infections caused by MRSA is rapidly changing: in the past 10 years, infections caused by this organism have emerged in the community (whereas previously MRSA infections were almost exclusively
hospital-acquired). The 2 MRSA clones in the United States most closely associated with community outbreaks,
USA400 (MW2 strain, ST1 lineage) and USA300, often contain
Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes and, more frequently, have been associated with skin and soft tissue infections. Outbreaks of community-associated (CA)-MRSA infections have been reported in correctional facilities, among athletic teams, among military recruits, in newborn nurseries, and among sexually active
men who have sex with men, CA-MRSA infections now appear to be endemic in many urban regions and cause most MRSA infections.
References
External links
Complete genome sequence of USA300Genome image
{{Taxonbar, from=Q150908
Staphylococcus
Infraspecific bacteria taxa