Transmissibility of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ST398) in Dutch hospitals

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011 Feb;17(2):316-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2010.03260.x.

Abstract

We quantified nosocomial transmission rates of sequence type (ST) 398 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (an emerging livestock-associated MRSA clone) and non-ST398 MRSA isolates in patients hospitalized without infection control measures in 51 Dutch hospitals. Identification of 174 index patients initiated 139 post-exposure screenings of 9925 persons. There were 65 genotype-confirmed secondary cases (three and 62 for ST398 and non-ST398 MRSA, respectively), yielding a relative transmission risk for ST398 MRSA of 0.28 (95% CI 0.09-0.90), which was not sensitive to adjustment for duration of hospitalization at time of detection. Nosocomial transmission of ST398 MRSA is 72% less likely than that of non-ST398 MRSA strains.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques
  • Cross Infection / epidemiology*
  • Cross Infection / microbiology
  • Cross Infection / transmission*
  • Genotype
  • Hospitals
  • Humans
  • Livestock / microbiology*
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / classification
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
  • Molecular Epidemiology
  • Molecular Typing
  • Netherlands / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / transmission*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / veterinary*