Rapid detection of the pandemic methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone ST 239, a dominant strain in Asian hospitals

We describe and validate a novel PCR assay to detect the pandemic hospital-acquired metbicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (RA-MRSA) lineage ST 239. Results based on previously uncharacterized isolates from a hospital in northeast Thailand support the view that at least 90% of RA-MRSA isolates in mainland Asia correspond to ST 239 or close relatives.