Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive sequence type 80 methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus carrying a staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVc is dominant in neonates and children in an Algiers hospital

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major antimicrobialdrug-resistant pathogen causing serious infections. It was first detected inhealthcare settings, but in recent years it has also become disseminated in thecommunity. Children and young adults are most susceptible to infection bycommunity-acquired (CA) MRSA strains. In this study 25 MRSA isolates implicatedin infections of neonates and children admitted to an Algiers hospital during an 18 month period were characterized by molecular methods including staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec typing, PCR amplification of pvl genes, pulsedfield gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Fifteenout of 25 isolates were from hospital-acquired infections. Twenty-four isolatescarried SCCmec type IVc and belonged to the sequence type (ST) 80, one isolatecarried SCCmec type II and was ST 39. Twenty-two out of 24 ST80-MRSA-IVc isolates carried pvl genes. Our results suggest that the Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive ST80- MRSA-IVc is the dominant MRSA clone causing disease in neonates and children in Algiers.