Prevalence, Characterization, and Drug Resistance of in Feces From Pediatric Patients in Guangzhou, China.

() is a major pathogen of human infections. Its fecal carriage serves as a risk factor for nosocomial transmission and disease development. However, the rate of fecal carriage among Chinese children has not yet been reported. Therefore, we sought to investigate the prevalence, characterization, and drug resistance of isolated from pediatric patients' feces in Southern China. Fecal samples (2059) from pediatric patients in three centers in Guangzhou were cultured. From which, 412 isolates were identified via selective mediums and automated VITEK Mass Spectrometer analysis. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined and DNA sequencing of seven housekeeping genes were used for multilocus sequence typing analysis. The fecal carriage rates were 20.0% for and 4.5% for methicillin-resistant (MRSA). Moreover, fecal carriage was positively correlated with outpatient status and gastroenteritis diagnosis. Moreover, age-related patterns were observed with respect to prevalence of . Besides, a total of 76 sequence types (STs) were identified, including 25 newly assigned STs and 28 clonal complexes (CCs). ST188, ST6, and ST15 were the most prevalent methicillin-sensitive (MSSA) clones, while ST59 and ST45 were the major MRSA clones. isolates also exhibited high rates of penicillin (84.2%), erythromycin (38.8%), and clindamycin (35.9%) resistance. Specifically, all ST30 and ST338 isolates were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin, 61% of ST7 were resistant to tetracycline, and 84% of ST45 exhibited resistance and intermediate resistance to rifampicin. Also, CC59 (ST338 and ST59) and CC45 exhibited different antibiotic resistance patterns. These results demonstrate the colonization dynamics and molecular epidemiology of in child feces in Southern China. Further, they suggest an urgency for strengthening the surveillance programs in China and provide important information for the prevention and treatment of infection.