Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus hetero-resistant to vancomycin (hVISA) in the Regional Hospital of Concepcion, Chile

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is widely distributed in hospital environments, causing serious infections, mainly the bloodstream, surgical site infection and pneumonia. Vancomycin (VAN) is the antibiotic of choice for treating severe MRSA infections; however, nowadays worldwide resistant strains (VRSA), with intermediate susceptibility (VISA) and decreased susceptibility or hetero-resistance to VAN (hVISA) have been reported, related to treatment failure and increased mortality. This report describes the first confirmed isolation of MRSA with hVISA phenotype in a public hospital in Chile.