Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in outpatients, United States, 1999-2006.
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has become a major problem in US hospitals already dealing with high levels of hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). Using antimicrobial drug susceptibility data for 1999-2006 from The Surveillance Network, we characterized the relationship between outpatient and inpatient levels of CA-MRSA nationally. In outpatients, the frequency of CA-MRSA isolates has increased >7 x during 1999-2006, which suggests that outpatients have become a major reservoir for CA-MRSA. However, contrary to results in other reports, although CA-MRSA increases are associated with decreases in the frequency of HA-MRSA in hospitals, the decreases are only modest. This finding suggests that instead of replacing HA-MRSA in the hospital, CA-MRSA is adding to the overall presence of MRSA already found within the hospital population.
Klein
Eili
E
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Smith
David L
DL
Laxminarayan
Ramanan
R
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents