Antibiotic-resistance plasmid amplified among MRSA cases in an urban jail and its connected communities.

ABSTRACT: Jails have been hypothesized to be hotspots for the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We integrate genomic and epidemiologic data to investigate USA300 MRSA transmission in Cook County Jail (Illinois, USA) and its connected communities. A genome-wide association study of 308 jail isolates from 2015-2018 revealed a plasmid encoding the ermC clindamycin/erythromycin resistance gene was associated with a 6-fold increased odds of MRSA genetic linkages among detainees. Additionally, 52% of jail-onset MRSA infections carried this plasmid compared to 14% of intake colonization isolates, supporting its role in MRSA spread in the jail. Extending our analysis to 774 isolates from a local healthcare system from 2011-2014, the ermC-carrying plasmid was also associated with

SUBMITTER: Thiede SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12796171 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature