MRSA ST398
bacterium resistant to many antibiotics
MRSA ST398 (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398) is a specific strain of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Staphylococcus aureus is a gram-positive, spherical bacterium that can cause a range of infections in humans and animals; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium that is resistant to many antibiotics. The abbreviation "ST" in MRSA ST398 refers to the sequence type of the bacterium. MRSA ST398 is a clonal complex 398 (CC398). This means that the strain had emerged in a human clinic, without any obvious or understandable causes. MRSA ST398, a specific strain of MRSA, is commonly found in livestock, and can cause infections in humans who come into contact with infected animals.
Taxonomy
MRSA ST398 is a strain of the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which belongs to the genus Staphylococcus. This genus covers a large group of gram-positive bacteria that are classified taxonomically in the family Staphylococcaceae, order Bacillales, class Bacilli, and phylum Bacillota.
Discovery
MRSA ST398, a new strain of MRSA, was first found in 2003, in Dutch hospitals. The bacteria was found specifically in people who were frequently in contact with livestock, particularly pigs and veal calves.
The public source identifies “MRSA ST398” as bacterium resistant to many antibiotics. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around MRSA, ST398 and bacterium.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q120629827. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2003.
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This entry incorporates text from “MRSA ST398” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.