Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in food samples of animal origin in Spain

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains belonging to clonal lineage sequence type (ST) 398 are being reported at an increasing frequency in Europe.1 This new MRSA type has been isolated from colonized and infected animals and humans, and also from meat in some countries,1,2 representing a risk to human health; nevertheless, so far, no data about detec-tion of MRSA ST398 in food in Spain have been published. A total of 318 raw food samples of food-producing animal