title: Origin and transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an endemic situation: differences between geriatric and intensive-care patients.
abstract: Imported vs. hospital-acquisition of MRSA was assessed in > 6000 patients at a large tertiary care teaching hospital. About five percent (5.1%) of patients carried MRSA on admission, mostly without clinical symptoms; the highest percentage (11.6%) being in geriatric patients. Hospital-acquisition of MRSA occurred in 1.7% of patients and was particularly high in intensive-care units (5.2%). Phenotype and genotype analysis of 158 MRSA strains isolated from 61 patients revealed a cluster of closely related strains in the hospital-acquired MRSA infections and the close relationship of this cluster to the regional epidemic MRSA strain. The MRSA strains imported by geriatric patients were genetically different, did not spread between geriatric patients and were only a minor source of nosocomial infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hoefnagels-Schuermans
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borremans
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peetermans
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Lierde
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reybrouck
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Eldere
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000635:transmission*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005853:Geriatrics; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification