Evaluation of multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis for typing a polyclonal hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus population in an area where such infections are endemic

Multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) was performed with 292 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates previously characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, multilocus sequence typing, and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing. Quantitative correspondence analyses showed the best correlation between data when an >or=80% cutoff was applied to MLVA. We confirmed the validity of MLVA for identification of related strains in a polyclonal MRSA population.