  Indoor skin-contact surfaces of public fitness centers may serve as
reservoirs of potential human transmission of methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We found a high prevalence of multi-drug
resistant (MDR)-MRSA of CC59 lineage harboring a variety of extracellular toxin
genes from surface swab samples collected from inanimate surfaces of fitness
centers in Memphis metropolitan area, USA. Our findings underscore the role of
inanimate surfaces as potential sources of transmission of MDR-MRSA strains
with considerable genetic diversity.
