Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in hospitals: time for a culture change

Chen, Luke F; Anderson, Deverick J; Kaye, Keith S; Sexton, Daniel J

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb01517.x

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To the Editor: The recent editorial by Collignon and colleagues challenged Australian physicians and health care leaders to confront the rising burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).1 Compared with Australia, the United States has a bigger problem with MRSA; more than 60% of all hospital-acquired S. aureus infections are now caused by MRSA.2

Division of Infectious Diseases, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Correspondence: luke.chen@duke.edu

Competing interests:

Deverick Anderson sits on the Regional Advisory Panel for Pfizer and Schering–Plough.

1. Collignon PJ, Grayson ML, Johnson PDR. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in hospitals: time for a culture change [editorial]. Med J Aust 2007; 187: 4-5. <MJA full text>
2. National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System Report, data summary from January 1992 through June 2004, issued October 2004. Am J Infect Control 2004; 32: 470-485.
3. Huang SS, Datta R, Platt R. Risk of acquiring antibiotic-resistant bacteria from prior room occupants. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166: 1945-1951.
4. Weber SG, Huang SS, Oriola S, et al. Legislative mandates for use of active surveillance cultures to screen for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant enterococci: position statement from the Joint SHEA and APIC Task Force. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2007; 28: 249-260.
5. Kaye KS, Engemann JJ, Fulmer EM, et al. Favorable impact of an infection control network on nosocomial infection rates in community hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2006; 27: 228-232.

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