Association between the Presence of the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-Encoding Gene and a Lower Rate of Survival among Hospitalized Pulmonary Patients with Staphylococcal Disease

Abstract

4 pag.- 1 fig.- 2 tab.Staphylococcus aureus is responsible for more than 2% of cases of communityacquired pneumonia and 10% of cases of nosocomial-acquired pneumonia. The lethality rate of such infections ranges from 30% to 80%. These infections are complicated by the fact that these bacteria have acquired diverse genetic information that makes them resistant to most antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is the most common cause of serious hospital-acquired infections (1). Infections of the respiratory tract by S. aureus can be more severe if the infecting strain produces the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) (11). The serious impact of PVL positive S. aureus infections seems to be associated with pulmonary complications.We are grateful to J.P. de Torres for critical reading of the manuscript. The study was partially supported by grants FUNCIS 02/38 and MEC BIO2002/00953, Spain, to S.M.A. S.M.A. was partially supported by Public Health Research Foundation (FIS) grant 99/3060, Spain. E.P.R. and C.L.A. were partially supported by grants from Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes and FUNCIS, respectively, Gobierno de Canarias Autonomous Government, Spain.Peer reviewe