Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains (n = 455) collected in 2001 from 100 Belgian hospitals were characterized by molecular typing and by resistance gene distribution to macrolides-lincosamides-streptogramins and to aminoglycoside antibiotics. Rapid diversification of MRSA clones, compared with results of previous surveys, was evidenced by the broad geographic distribution of seven major clones belonging to the pandemic MRSA clonal complexes 5, 8, 22, 30, and 45 by multilocus sequence typing