Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Positive Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Returning Travelers

Dennis Tappe Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Marco H. Schulze Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Anett Oesterlein Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Doris Turnwald Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Andreas Müller Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Ulrich Vogel Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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August Stich Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Germany; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Mission Hospital, Würzburg, Germany

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Skin and soft tissue infections caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin-producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus are emerging among travelers returning from the tropics. Here, we here present data on 15 affected individuals. Intrafamiliar spread was documented in one case, and occupational transmission was assumed in another. Spa typing of the strains revealed a broad spectrum of variants, but some were clonally related. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was found in three cases.

Author Notes

*Address correspondence to Dennis Tappe, Medical Mission Hospital, Department of Tropical Medicine, Salvatorstr. 7, 97067 Würzburg, Germany. E-mail: dtappe@hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de
†These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors' addresses: Dennis Tappe, Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany and Medical Mission Hospital, Department of Tropical Medicine, Würzburg, Germany, E-mail: dtappe@hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de. Marco H. Schulze, Andreas Müller, and August Stich, Medical Mission Hospital, Department of Tropical Medicine, Würzburg, Germany, E-mails: Marco.Schulze@uni-wuerzburg.de, Andreas.Mueller@missioklinik.de, and Stich@missioklinik.de. Anett Oesterlein, Doris Turnwald, and Ulrich Vogel, Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, E-mails: molekularbiologie@hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de, dturnwald@hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de, and uvogel@hygiene.uni-wuerzburg.de.

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