The study report the first isolations of CC398 LA-MRSA from poultry meat in the UK including representatives of a particular sub-clade associated with cases of human infection/colonisation in Europe

LA-MRSA is a public health concern worldwide, but has only been reported sporadically in the UK. In the largest UK study to date, samples of raw meat at retail sale were examined for both the presence and levels of MRSA. We report the first isolations of CC398 LA-MRSA from poultry meat in the UK including representatives of a particular sub-clade associated with cases of human infection/colonisation in Europe. Whilst levels were low (<20 CFU g-1), the contamination rate was higher than previous UK studies. Moreover, whole genome sequencing revealed multiple independent introductions of LA-MRSA into the UK food-chain.