Whole-genome epidemiology, characterisation, and phylogenetic reconstruction of Staphylococcus aureus strains in a paediatric hospital

Background Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of nosocomial infections. It can acquire resistance to all the antibiotics that entered the clinics to date, and the World Health Organization defined it as a high-priority pathogen for research and development of new antibiotics. A deeper understanding of the genetic variability of S. aureus in clinical settings would lead to a better comprehension of its pathogenic potential and improved strategies to contrast its virulence and resistance. However, the number of comprehensive studies addressing clinical cohorts of S. aureus infections by simultaneously looking at the epidemiology, phylogenetic reconstruction, genomic characterisation, and transmission pathways of infective clones is currently low, thus limiting global surveillance and epidemiological monitoring.