title: Prevalence of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus in the community.
abstract: Recent reports indicate that community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are increasing and may now involve persons without risk factors predisposing for acquisition. To estimate the extent of community MRSA in New York City, the prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA nasal colonization in a well-patient population of 500 children and guardians was determined. The prevalence of S. aureus nasal carriage was 35% for children and 28% for guardians. One person with predisposing risk factors was colonized with an MRSA, which was identified as the predominant clone found in New York City hospitals. A high degree of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus strain diversity was noted, with no apparent selection for specific clonal types. Thus, MRSA colonization is not ubiquitous in persons without predisposing risk outside of the health care environment. Bacterial competition and a lack of strong selection may limit the community spread of MRSA and can account for its sporadic distribution.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Research Institute, Tuberculosis Center and Department of Microbiology, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shopsin
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mathema
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Campo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fierman
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krasinski
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kornblum
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alcabes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waddington
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riehman
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Kreiswirth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance / Q000235:genetics*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents