Characterization of a Variant of the SCCmecElement in a Bloodstream Isolate ofStaphylococcus intermedius

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Abstract
Here we report for the first time, a detailed characterization of a variant of the SCCmec element, in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus intermedius human isolate. S. intermedius is a coagulase-positive zoonotic microrganism, recently classified as a separate species. In routine clinical laboratory practice, the coagulase production is used as criterion of pathogenicity related to S. aureus, but S. intermedius is frequently misidentified—being mistaken for S. aureus—and consequently its real incidence underestimated. S. intermedius have been found only occasionally in human beings, and methicillin-resistance is very rare for this organism. Even if the genetic element responsible for methicillin-resistance—the mecA gene carried by diverse staphylococcal chromosomal cassettes—has been described in various staphylococcal species, the current literature doesn't report any case of S. intermedius isolate carrying SCCmec-like elements. Our study could be useful to explain the mechanism and routes of transfer of the chromosomal cassette carrying the mec complex, among staphylococci.

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