Whole-genome sequencing as standard practice for the analysis of clonality in outbreaks of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a paediatric setting

Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the leading causes of hospital-associated infections. This study investigated the potential use of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) for surveillance purposes by re-examining MRSA strains related to past outbreaks among hospitalized paediatric patients. WGS data ameliorated the genotypic profile previously obtained with Sanger sequencing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing, and discriminated between strains that were related and unrelated to the outbreaks. This allowed strain clonality to be defined with a higher level of resolution than achieved previously. This study demonstrates the potential of WGS to trace hospital outbreaks, which may lead to WGS becoming standard practice in outbreak investigations.