Surveillance for S aureus bacteraemias is compulsory

doi:10.1136/bmj.324.7331.240b

BMJ 2002;324:240 ( 26 January )

Letters

Surveillance for S aureus bacteraemias is compulsory

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Van Belkum and Verbrugh's editorial on methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) focused on the Dutch experience.¹It was England that first detected methicillin resistance in Saureus,² and despite the apparent disappearance of these strainsin the United Kingdom in the 1970s their descendants are causingproblemsnow.

The first epidemic strain of MRSA, EMRSA-1, seemed to be indistinguishable from that reported from eastern Australian hospitalsand caused many hospital outbreaks in the Thames regions, withspread beyond. This was superseded by EMRSA-15 and EMRSA-16, theprevalent strains in England in the1990s.

Control in the early days was along "search and destroy" lines, but difficulties controlling MRSA in an unsupportive working,political, and financial environment led to the belief that spreadwas inevitable. In the United Kingdom there was much debate onwhether we should "live" with MRSA, using a universal precautionsapproach. A risk assessment . . . [Full text of this article]