The dominant methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone from hospitals in Cape Town has an unusual genotype: ST612

There is currently limited information available on the molecular epidemiology of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in South Africa. A molecular characterization of 100 MRSA from five hospitals in Cape Town was carried out in this study. The strains were separated into six clusters by pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis, indicating transmission of MRSA between local hospitals. None of the strains carried the Panton‐Valentine Leukocidin gene. SCCmec typing, multilocus sequence typing and spa typing were used to further characterize the MRSA. Three clones corresponded to frequently described pandemic clones: ST239‐MRSA‐III, ST36‐MRSA‐II and ST5‐MRSA‐I. ST239‐MRSA‐III and ST36‐MRSA‐II were minor clones and collectively accounted for 16% of the isolates. ST5‐MRSA‐I was the second‐most prevalent clone and accounted for 37% of the isolates. The dominant local clone was the infrequently described ST612‐MRSA‐IV (44% of isolates), which has only been described in South Africa and Australia.