Clonal lineages detected amongst tetracycline-resistant meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates of a Tunisian hospital, with detection of lineage ST398.

Tetracycline resistance has been postulated as a potential phenotypic marker of livestock-associated lineage ST398 amongst meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates in some European hospitals. The objective of this study was to determine if this marker could also be applied to Maghrebian countries. In total, 99 MRSA isolates were collected in a Tunisian hospital during January 2011-October 2012, and 24 tetracycline-resistant MRSA isolates of this collection were characterized.