Patent ID: 8367337

Claim:
A method of detecting in a sample a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) having an insertion of an SCCmec cassette within Staphylococcus aureus chromosomal DNA, comprising performing on the sample an amplification and detection reaction utilizing a. a first primer capable of specifically hybridizing in an extremity junction region of the SCCmec cassette, b. a second primer capable of specifically hybridizing in an extremity junction region of chromosomal Staphylococcus aureus DNA, and c. a first probe capable of specifically hybridizing to a region of the SCCmec cassette between the region with which the first primer is capable of hybridizing and the junction, wherein each of the first primer and the second primer is oriented such that, under amplification conditions, the junction is amplified, and wherein if the sample contains MRSA, hybridization of the probe is detected.