Environment surface sampling in 33 Washington State fire stations for methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus.
BACKGROUND
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible S aureus (MSSA) were isolated from environment surfaces sampled from 33 Washington State fire stations.


METHODS
Samples were collected by fire personnel using commercial testing swabs. One to 6 surfaces were sampled per swab with 20 swabs per station. Biochemical tests were used to confirm MRSA and MSSA isolates. A short survey designed to collect information on cleaning procedures in the stations was included in the kits.


RESULTS
MRSA was isolated from 8.0% and MSSA from 18.5% of the 653 samples. Nineteen fire stations (58.0%) were MRSA positive, 27 stations (82.0%) were MSSA positive, and 14 stations (42.4%) were positive for both MSSA and MRSA. Three stations (9.0%) were negative for MSSA and MRSA. Twelve fire stations (37.5%) reported fire service professionals with MRSA needing medical care. Positive controls were detected at levels of >10(2) CFU/mL and negative controls were negative.


CONCLUSIONS
The kit system allowed sampling of >2,000 surfaces from fire stations across Washington State. This is the first time an estimate of the level of MRSA-infected fire personnel has been determined from multiple districts within a single state. Further work is needed to determine if these data can be extrapolated to other career-based fire stations across the country.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: marilynr@u.washington.edu.
Marilyn C
MC
Roberts
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
David B
DB
No
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D004203:Disinfection / Q000379:methods; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D061388:Firefighters; D050456:Fomites / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D011481:Protective Clothing / Q000382:microbiology; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014861:Washington; D017132:Workplace
Fire station disinfection protocols; MRSA; MSSA; Staphylococcal sample kit