Molecular characteristics of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonizing surgical patients in Greece.

Fifty-one of 925 patients screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) upon admission to a surgical unit were MRSA carriers; 15 were classified as community- and 36 as hospital-associated-MRSA. Fourteen of 22 isolates typed by molecular methods belonged to the European clone ST80-IVc, 3 of which exhibited resistance to ≥3 non-β-lactam antibiotics.