Asymptomatic carriage of sequence type 398, spa type t571 methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in an urban jail: a newly emerging, transmissible pathogenic strain.

Sequence type 398 (ST398) Staphylococcus aureus, frequently carried by livestock, has caused severe human infections and often carries transmissible antibiotic resistance genes. Among methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates colonizing Dallas County Jail detainees, 13.2% were ST398, spa type t571, and were genetically similar to human colonization isolates from New York, Chicago, and the Dominican Republic.