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Hospital- and Community-Based Surveillance of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Previous Hospitalization is the Major Risk Factor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Bryna Warshawsky
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Middlesex-London Health Unit, London, Ontario, Canada
Zafar Hussain*
Affiliation:
London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Daniel B. Gregson
Affiliation:
St Joseph's Health Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Robert Alder
Affiliation:
Middlesex-London Health Unit, London, Ontario, Canada
Marilyn Austin
Affiliation:
London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Debra Bruckschwaiger
Affiliation:
London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Abdul H. Chagla
Affiliation:
London Regional Public Health Laboratory, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Jackie Daley
Affiliation:
London Health Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Cam Duhaime
Affiliation:
Parkwood Hospital, London, Ontario, Canada
Kathy McGhie
Affiliation:
St Joseph's Health Centre, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
Graham Pollett
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada Middlesex-London Health Unit, London, Ontario, Canada
Harriet Potters
Affiliation:
Parkwood Hospital, London, Ontario, Canada
Lorraine Schiedel
Affiliation:
Middlesex-London Health Unit, London, Ontario, Canada
*
Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Victoria Campus, London Health Sciences Centre, Box 5010, London, Ontario N6A 4G5, Canada

Abstract

Objective:

The purpose of the study was to determine the incidence and risk factors for the acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in our community.

Design:

This study used a cross-sectional design to assess patients colonized or infected with MRSA.

Patients:

The study population consisted of residents of London, Ontario, Canada, who were identified as MRSA-positive for the first time in 1997.

Setting:

All acute- and chronic-care hospitals, long-term healthcare facilities, and community physicians' offices in the city of London participated in the study.

Main Outcome Measure:

Incidence of MRSA in the community, risk factors for acquisition, especially previous hospitalization over a defined period, and strain type were evaluated.

Results:

In 1997, 331 residents of London were newly identified as MRSA-positive, representing an annual incidence of 100/100,000 persons (95% confidence interval, 88.8-110.7). Thirty-one (9.4%) individuals were not healthcare-facility patients in the previous month, and 11 (3.3%), 10 (3.0%), and 6 (1.8%) individuals had no such contact in the previous 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively. One hundred seventy-seven strains, including five of the isolates from patients with no healthcare-facility contact in the previous year, were typed. One hundred sixty (90.3%) of these isolates, including all typed strains from patients with no healthcare facility contact, belonged to a single clone.

Conclusion:

These findings demonstrate that the incidence of MRSA is higher than previously reported and that hospital contact is the single most important risk factor for the acquisition of MRSA in our community. Screening for MRSA in previously hospitalized patients at the time of hospitalization may reduce nosocomial spread and indirectly reduce the incidence of MRSA in the community.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2000

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