Molecular Epidemiological Characterization of and Clinical Isolates from a National Tertiary Care Hospital in Myanmar: Co-Isolation of Multiple Clones and Identification of Novel Staphylocoagulase Genotype.

Spread of antimicrobial resistance and virulence factors among / poses a potential public health concern in Myanmar. In this study, a total of 226 clinical isolates of ( = 211) and ( = 15) collected in Yangon General Hospital during a two-year period were analyzed for their antimicrobial susceptibility and genetic features. Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) accounted for 19% of isolates, associated with mostly staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) type IV, or V. Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes were detected in methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) at significantly higher rate (39%) than in MRSA (22%). Among MRSA, ST361 (clonal complex [CC] 361), ST772 (CC1), and ST239 (CC8) were frequently identified, while the most common clone in MSSA was ST2990 (CC1), followed by ST121 and CC8 comprising five STs. Novel coagulase gene genotype XVI was identified in four MSSA isolates. All the isolates were assigned to ST2250 and negative, including only one PVL-positive isolate. MSSA and were co-isolated from two patients, while two different MSSA clones were simultaneously identified in eight patients. This study revealed clonal diversity and genetic characteristics of current MRSA/MSSA/ clinical isolates in the national tertiary care hospital in Myanmar.