So-called »Empty Cassette Variants« are a problem for many MRSA test systems on the market. These are S. aureus strains whose gene cassette does not contain the resistance gene mecA (deletion) therefore they are sensitive to methicillin (treatment with antibiotics possible). Test systems which target the cassette as an entity, disregard the mecA gene and yield false positive results.
Moreover, in 2011 the new gene variant mecC was discovered in England and has since then been detected in six more countries: DE, DK, FR, IE, NL, PT. Although the examined strains show phenotypical methicillin resistance, it could not be detected with PCR tests currently on the market.
GENSPEED MRSA detects both methicillin resistance genes – mecA and mecC.