title: Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by non-hospitalized subjects in Israel.
abstract: The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the anterior nares and axilla was studied in 920 non-hospitalized subjects: 350 drug addicts, 350 individuals presenting at a hospital emergency room for various reasons, and 220 hospital health care workers. S. aureus was isolated from 105 (11.4%) subjects, in six (6.3%) of whom the isolates were methicillin-resistant. The isolation rate of the organism and the prevalence of resistant strains in the different subgroups were, respectively: drug-addicts, n = 32 (9.1%), n = 2 (6.9%); emergency room patients, n = 36 (10.2%), n = 1 (3.2%); and hospital health care workers, n = 37 (16.8%), n = 3 (8.5%). Our findings suggest that MRSA remains uncommon in the community, while the prevalence of S. aureus carriage (including methicillin-resistant strains) in hospital personnel is quite similar in divergent geographical areas.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Disease Unit, E. Wolfson Hospital, Holon, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moses
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Asherov
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gutman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications