Prevalence and Characteristics of Invasive among Patients with Bacteremia in Hong Kong.

is a novel Staphylococcus species derived from . Information on the prevalence and genetic characteristics of invasive in Asia is limited. In this study, 275 invasive complex strains were retrieved from blood culture specimens in Hong Kong and re-analyzed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and an in-house multiplex real-time PCR for . The prevalence of invasive in Hong Kong was found to be 4.0% (11/275). These strains were primarily susceptible to commonly used antibiotics, except penicillin. Whole-genome sequencing revealed the circulation of three genotypes (ST-2250, ST-1223, and ST-2854) in Hong Kong, with ST-2250 and ST-1223 being the predominant genotypes. The local ST-2250 and ST-1223 strains showed close phylogenetic relationships with isolates from mainland China. Antimicrobial-resistant genes (, , , , ) could be found in nearly all local strains. The ST-1223 and ST-2250 genotypes carried multiple staphylococcal enterotoxin genes that could cause food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. The CRISPR/Cas locus was observed only in the ST-2250 strains. This study provides the first report on the molecular epidemiology of invasive in Hong Kong, and further analysis is needed to understand its transmission reservoir.