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dc.contributor.authorHart, J.
dc.contributor.authorChristiansen, Keryn
dc.contributor.authorLee, R.
dc.contributor.authorHeath, C.
dc.contributor.authorCoombs, Geoffrey
dc.contributor.authorRobinson, James
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-30T15:21:18Z
dc.date.available2017-01-30T15:21:18Z
dc.date.created2015-01-28T20:00:41Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.identifier.citationHart, J. and Christiansen, K. and Lee, R. and Heath, C. and Coombs, G. and Robinson, J. 2014. Increased EMRSA-15 health-care worker colonization demonstrated in retrospective review of EMRSA hospital outbreaks. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. 3: 7.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45504
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/2047-2994-3-7
dc.description.abstract

Background:Health care worker (HCW) colonization with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a documented cause of hospital outbreaks and contributes to ongoing transmission. At Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) it had been anecdotally noted that the increasing prevalence of EMRSA-15 appeared to be associated with increased HCW colonization compared with Aus2/3-EMRSA. Hence we compared HCW colonization rates during outbreaks of EMRSA-15 and Aus2/3-EMRSA at a single institution.Methods:We performed a retrospective review of EMRSA-15 and Aus2/3-EMRSA outbreaks from 2000 –2009 at RPH, a quaternary hospital in Western Australia. Outbreak files were reviewed and relevant data extracted. Results:Ten EMRSA-15 outbreaks were compared with seven Aus2/3 outbreaks. The number of patients colonized was similar between EMRSA-15 and Aus2/ 3-EMRSA outbreaks (median 7 [range 3 – 20] and 11 [5 – 26], respectively; P = 0.07) but the number of HCWs colonized was significantl y higher in EMRSA-15 outbreaks compared to Aus2/3-EMRSA outbreaks (median 4 [range 0 – 15] and 2 [1-3], respectively; P = 0.013). The percentage of HCWs colonized was also higher in EMRSA-15 outbreaks versus Aus2/3-EMRSA outbreaks (median 3.4% [range 0 – 5.5%] and 0.81% [0.56 – 2.2%], respectively; P= 0.013).Conclusions:This study demonstrates a higher level of HCW colonization during EMRSA-15 outbreaks compared with Aus2/3-EMRSA outbreaks. This finding suggests that MRSA vary in their ability to colonize HCWs and contribute to outbreaks. MRSA type should be determined during outbreaks and future research should investigate the mechanisms by which EMRSA-15 contributes to increased HCW colonization.

dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd.
dc.subjectAus2/3-EMRSA
dc.subjectHealth care workers
dc.subjectOutbreak
dc.subjectEMRSA-15
dc.subjectStaphylococcus aureus
dc.subjectMethicillin resistant
dc.titleIncreased EMRSA-15 health-care worker colonization demonstrated in retrospective review of EMRSA hospital outbreaks
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume3
dcterms.source.number7
dcterms.source.startPage1
dcterms.source.endPage6
dcterms.source.issn2047-2994
dcterms.source.titleAntimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control
curtin.note

This article is published under the Open Access publishing model and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Please refer to the licence to obtain terms for any further reuse or distribution of this work.

curtin.departmentSchool of Biomedical Sciences
curtin.accessStatusOpen access


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