title: Low prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a southwestern region of Germany.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has developed into an important human pathogen and is increasingly being found to be the cause of skin and soft tissue infections or invasive infections in many communities. We have determined the prevalence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates from pediatric in- and outpatients of the University Children's Hospital of Freiburg, from children attending primary care pediatricians and from healthy children entering school in a prospective study carried out in a southwestern region of Germany. Of the healthy children tested, all between 5 and 7 years of age, 25.8% were intra-nasally colonized with S. aureus. A total of 1455 S. aureus isolates were tested for antibiotic susceptibility. Apart from penicillin resistance (82.1%), an overall high susceptibility of S. aureus to antibiotics, including clindamycin, was common, while resistance among the S. aureus isolates to erythromycin and clindamycin had even significantly decreased from 2002 to 2004. Methicillin-resistance was exceedingly rare (0.3%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the southwestern region of Germany, about one quarter of the healthy children tested at school entry were found to be colonized with S. aureus. The prevalence of MRSA among healthy as well as hospitalized children colonized with S. aureus is still extremely rare in this region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University Hospital Freiburg, Mathildenstrasse 1, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fluegge
authors.forename: Brit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Luetke Volksbeck
authors.forename: Annerose
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serr
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Henneke
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berner
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data