Enterotoxin B is the predominant toxin involved in staphylococcal scarlet fever in Taiwan.

Abstract

This study retrospectively reviewed all pediatric cases of staphylococcal scarlet fever (SSF) that occurred during a 10-year period in a 1400-bed tertiary medical center in northern Taiwan. All 20 cases of SSF occurred in previously healthy individuals. Skin and soft-tissue infections predominated among children from whom Staphylococcus aureus was isolated. Polymerase chain reaction testing was used to detect known staphylococcal toxin genes, and of the isolates studied, most (18 [90%] of 20) contained only the staphylococcal enterotoxin B. One of the other strains was positive for staphylococcal enterotoxin A only, and the last strain was positive for both staphylococcal enterotoxin G and staphylococcal enterotoxin I. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified a small cluster of isolates (6 [30%] of 20) that were genetically related, but these strains came from epidemiologically unrelated patients during a 3-year period.