%0 Journal Article
%T Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Transmitted between Patients with Buruli Ulcer
%A Alex W. Friedrich
%A Anthony Ablordey
%A Artur J. Sabat
%A Caitlin S. Tetteh
%A Isaac Prah
%A Jan Maarten van Dijl
%A John W. Rossen
%A Monika A. Chlebowicz
%A Nana Ama Amissah
%A Tjip S. van der Werf
%A Ymkje Stienstra
%J -
%D 2015
%R 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004049
%X Background Buruli ulcer (BU) is a skin infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The wounds of most BU patients are colonized with different microorganisms, including Staphylococcus aureus.   Methodology This study investigated possible patient-to-patient transmission events of S. aureus during wound care in a health care center. S. aureus isolates from different BU patients with overlapping visits to the clinic were whole-genome sequenced and analyzed by a gene-by-gene approach using SeqSphere+ software. In addition, sequence data were screened for the presence of genes that conferred antibiotic resistance.   Principal Findings SeqSphere+ analysis of whole-genome sequence data confirmed transmission of methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin susceptible S. aureus among patients that took place during wound care. Interestingly, our sequence data show that the investigated MRSA isolates carry a novel allele of the fexB gene conferring chloramphenicol resistance, which had thus far not been observed in S. aureus
%K Staphylococcus aureus
%K Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
%K Antimicrobial resistance
%K Antibiotic resistance
%K Buruli ulcer
%K Sequence analysis
%K Chloramphenicol
%K Ghana
%U https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0004049