Investigation of Panton-Valentine leukocidin expressing Staphylococcus aureus colonization among children in a child care center.

The presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin expressing Staphylococcus aureus colonization was investigated with a qualitative nucleic acid hybridization assay among 122 children and 19 staff in a child care center. Genotyping of 5 Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed that one child and a teacher from the same class were colonized with the clonally related strains. This finding allowed us to suggest that close contact with colonized people is a risk factor for being colonized.