Molecular characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates carrying the Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes from Rio de Janeiro hospitals

• Molecular analysis of Staphylococcus aureus PVL-positive isolates from Brazil.
• PVL-positive S. aureus isolates causing bloodstream infection in neonates.
• First description of a vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus isolate belonging to USA1100/ST30/CC30 clone.

In a collection of 50 pvl-positive Staphylococcus aureus isolates from 10 Rio de Janeiro hospitals, 18 (36%) were from bloodstream infections, and 31 (62%) carried the SCCmec IV. Among 25 (50%) isolates of the USA1100/ST30/CC30 lineage present in 8 hospitals, 1 isolate was characterized as vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus.