A case of a submandibular abscess caused by panton-valentine leukocidin positive USA 300 communityassociated methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus in a foreign resident of South Korea

The incidence of community-associated, methicillin-resistant, Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has increased in North America and Europe. One of most important reasons is the spread of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) positive CAMRSA strains. On the other hand, CA-MRSA is not associated with the PVL positive strain in South Korea. Few cases of PVL positive CA-MRSA infections were reported in South Korea. We encountered a case of a submandibular abscess caused by MRSA in an otherwise healthy 29-year-old foreign female resident in a military camp. The CA-MRSA infection was confirmed by culture after abscess aspiration. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, multilocus sequence typing and spa typing revealed type IV, ST8 and t008, respectively. The PVL gene was also identified.