Higher incidence of perineal community acquired MRSA infections among toddlers.

Background: A six-fold increase in pediatric MRSA infections, prompted us to examine the clinical profile of children with MRSA infections seen at Mercy Children's Hospital, Toledo, Ohio and to characterize the responsible strains.

Methods: Records were reviewed of pediatric patients who cultured positive for MRSA from June 1 to December 31, 2007. Strain typing by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFT) and DiversiLab, SCCmec typing, and PCR-based lukSF-PV gene (encodes Panton-Valentine leukocidin), arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME) and cap5 gene detection was performed.