Controlling methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7425.1177

BMJ 2003;327:1177-1178 (22 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7425.1177

Editorial

Controlling methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Time to return to more stringent methods of control in the UnitedKingdom?

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

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a majorcause of hospital acquired infection worldwide, posing a growingthreat to public health. It belongs to a species of ubiquitousand versatile organisms that are continually adapting to newantimicrobial and environmental challenges, often through genetransfers even from distantly related organisms such as vertebrates.Why is MRSA important? Some strains are eminently transmissible,resulting in large numbers of infections in hospitals. Bacteraemiadata for England and Wales show that MRSA as a proportion oftotal Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias rose from under 2%in 1990 to 42% in 2000^1
2—one of the highest reportedrates in Europe.

Methicillin resistance was first reported in 1961 shortly afterthe introduction of methicillin (similar to flucloxacillin),the first penicillin resistant to destruction by staphylococcal ${beta}$ -lactamase. The discovery of methicillin was an important developmentas many hospital strains of S aureus had become penicillin resistantin . . . [Full text of this article]

Georgia Duckworth, head

Division of Healthcare Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance, Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Health Protection Agency, London NW9 5EQ (georgia.duckworth@hpa.org.uk)

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