Threat of dissemination, Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) CC398 clone in Tokyo, Japan

Abstract

In the last decade, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been identified in livestock animals, such as swine, poultry, and veal calves, and termed livestock-associated MRSA (LA-MRSA). LA-MRSA sequence type (ST) 398 strains can effectively colonize and infect humans, with subsequent transmission in both community and hospital settings. Unlike other countries, LA-MRSA was not yet reported in Japanese patients until 2019. However, we recently reported a case of intractable arthritis caused by a LA-MRSA CC398 (ST1232) clone, which is a single locus variant of ST398, in a patient in Tokyo, Japan, with no animal contact (Emerg Infect Dis 2020; 26: 795-97). Uniquely, the strain was positive for Panton-Valentine leukocidin. Here, we report the second such case ever found in Japan. To prevent dissemination of LA-MRSA in the Japanese community, the prevalence of the CC398 MRSA clone should be closely monitored in the future.