Evaluation of Multiple-Locus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis for Typing a Polyclonal Hospital-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Population in an Area Where Such Infections Are Endemic

摘要

Multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) was performed with 292 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates previously characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing. Quantitative correspondence analyses showed the best correlation between data when an ≥80% cutoff was applied to MLVA. We confirmed the validity of MLVA for identification of related strains in a polyclonal MRSA population.