. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 May 21.

Published in final edited form as: Clin Perinatol. 2010 Sep;37(3):547–563. doi: 10.1016/j.clp.2010.06.004

Table 2.

Comparison of Community- associated vs. Hospital-associated MRSA

Characteristic	Community-associated	Hospital-associated	Comment
mecA	present	present	Encodes for PBP2a
SCCmecA	IV and V Relatively small ~ 20 kb	I, II, III Relatively large > 30 kb Carry additional resistance genes	USA300 most common CA clone
Resistance pattern	Resistant to: Oxacillin and other β-lactam agents	Resistant to: Oxacillin and other β-lactam agents Resistant to: Rifampin Gentamicn Erythromycin Tetracycline Clindamycyin Trimethorpim sulfamethoxazole	CA strains increasingly resistant

Note: SCC staphylococcal chromosomal cassette, CA community-acquired