Mandatory reporting and public sharing of information would likely lead to improved health care practices and save lives
Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is common, and it causes serious morbidity and mortality. In Australia, it is estimated that there are over 6000 episodes per year, most of which are health care-associated.1 SAB is also a major problem internationally, and this problem is compounded by antibiotic resistance. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections are common in most countries, and MRSA bacteraemia has reached epidemic proportions in some areas of the United States.2,3
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- 1. Collignon P, Nimmo GR, Gottlieb T, Gosbell IB; Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11: 554-561.
- 2. Collignon P, Dreimanis D, Ferguson J, et al. Bloodstream infections. In: Cruickshank M, Ferguson J, editors. Reducing harm to patients from health care associated infection: the role of surveillance: Sydney: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2008: 53-89. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/safety/publishing.nsf/Content/prog-HAI_Surveillance (accessed Aug 2009).
- 3. Klevens R, Morrison M, Nadle J, et al. Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. JAMA 2007; 298: 1763-1771.
- 4. Turnidge JD, Kotsanas D, Munckhof W, et al; Australia New Zealand Cooperative on Outcomes in Staphylococcal Sepsis. Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: a major cause of mortality in Australia and New Zealand. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 368-373. <eMJA full text>
- 5. Johnson PDR, Martin R, Burrell LJ, et al. Efficacy of an alcohol/chlorhexidine hand hygiene program in a hospital with high rates of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 509-514. <MJA full text>
- 6. Pittet D, Hugonnet S, Harbarth S, et al. Effectiveness of a hospital-wide programme to improve compliance with hand hygiene. Infection Control Programme. Lancet 2000; 356: 1307-1312.
- 7. Hand Hygiene Australia [website]. http://www.hha.org.au/ (accessed Aug 2009).
- 8. Health Protection Agency. Quarterly results from the mandatory surveillance of MRSA bacteraemia. MRSA bacteraemia; June 2009. http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1233906819629 (accessed Jul 2009).
- 9. Collignon PJ, Wilkinson IJ, Gilbert GL, et al. Health-care associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections: a clinical quality indicator for all hospitals. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 404-406. <MJA full text>
- 10. Dendle C, Martin RD, Cameron DR, et al. Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia as a quality indicator for hospital infection control. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 389-392.
- 11. Nimmo GR, Pearson JC, Collignon PJ, et al. Prevalence of MRSA among Staphylococcus aureus isolated from hospital inpatients, 2005: report from the Australian Group for Antimicrobial Resistance. Commun Dis Intell 2007; 31: 288-296.
Peter Collignon has received federal government funding for travel and accommodation to meet with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, and is Director of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Canberra Hospital, which was one of the participating sites in the study by Turnidge and colleagues.4