Background: With the abuse of antibiotics, the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain
became prevalent. Furthermore, Staphylococcus aureus with a character of vancomycin intermediate-
resistance (VISA) has been found globally since the first report in Japan. The main objectives of this study
were to report a case of VISA isolated from a Chinese patient who had never undergone Vancomycin
treatment, and to determine its molecular character.
Methods: A total of 9 strains were recovered from a patient during the therapeutic process. Antimicrobial
susceptibility testing was performed to determine their antibiotic susceptibility patterns. To detect the
VISA strain’s molecular epidemiological features, growth and morphological characters, we used
multilocus sequence typing, autolysis assay and transmission electric microscope tests. Pulsed-field gel
electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed to characterize the heterogeneities of all isolates.
Results: One isolate was found to exhibit vancomycin intermediated-resistant with MIC of 8 mg/ml. It
was ST239-T030-agr-1, had thickened cell wall, and displayed a slower growth rate and reduced
susceptibility to Triton X-100-induced autolysis than other strains. All 9 strains exhibited the same PFGE
pattern.
Conclusion: This is the first report of VISA found in central China from a patient who had never received
vancomycin treatment.
2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.
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