“…Among species of Staphylococcus, they account for 30 to 50% of nosocomial infections and this number is on the rise (2,3). After the description of the Brazilian epidemic clone (BEC) in 1992 (4), other studies further demonstrated the persistence of this microorganism in Brazilian hospitals (3). In these studies, the molecular characterization of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) has been conducted primarily by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and plasmid analysis, which showed the existence of internationally disseminated clones, reflecting epidemiological and geographical relatedness (5).…”