Letter

Surveillance for S aureus bacteraemias is compulsory

BMJ 2002; 324 doi: 10.1136/bmj.324.7331.240b (Published 26 January 2002)
Cite this as: BMJ 2002;324:240.3

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  1. Georgia Duckworth, head, division of healthcare-associated infection and antimicrobial resistance (gduckworth@phls.org.uk),
  2. Barry Cookson, director, laboratory of hospital infection,
  3. Andrew Pearson, head, nosocomial infection surveillance unit,
  4. Natasha Crowcroft, consultant epidemiologist, immunisation division
  1. Public Health Laboratory Service/Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London NW9 5EQ

    EDITOR—Van Belkum and Verbrugh's editorial on methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) focused on the Dutch experience.1 It was England that first detected methicillin resistance in S aureus,2 and despite the apparent disappearance of these strains in the United Kingdom in the 1970s their descendants are causing problems now.

    The first epidemic strain of MRSA, EMRSA-1, seemed to be indistinguishable from that reported from eastern Australian hospitals and caused many hospital outbreaks in the Thames regions, with spread beyond. This was superseded by EMRSA-15 and …

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