Prolonged silent carriage, genomic virulence potential and transmission between staff and patients characterize a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Silent transmission of MRSA between HCP and NICU patients likely contributed to a NICU outbreak involving a virulent MRSA strain. WGS enabled data-driven decision making to inform implementation of infection control policies that mitigated the outbreak. Prospective WGS coupled with epidemiologic analysis can be used to detect transmission events and prompt early implementation of control strategies.