Rapid identification and subsequent contextualization of an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a neonatal intensive care unit using nanopore sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are well described in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting. Genomics has revolutionized the investigation of such outbreaks; however, to date, this has largely been completed retrospectively and has typically relied on short-read platforms. In 2022, our laboratory established a prospective genomic surveillance system using Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing for rapid outbreak detection. Herein, using this system, we describe the detection and control of an outbreak of sequence-type (ST)97 MRSA in our NICU. The outbreak was identified 13 days after the first MRSA-positive culture and at a point where there were only two known cases. Ward screening rapidly defined the extent of the outbreak, with six other

SUBMITTER: White RT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11316549 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature