Project description:BackgroundFew studies, based on a limited number of patients using non-uniform therapeutic protocols, have analyzed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) eradication.MethodsIn a randomized multicenter trial conducted on patients with new-onset MRSA infection we evaluated the efficacy of an early eradication treatment (arm A) compared with an observational group (B). Arm A received oral rifampicin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (21 days). Patients' microbiological status, FEV1, BMI, pulmonary exacerbations and use of antibiotics were assessed.ResultsSixty-one patients were randomized. Twenty-nine (47.5%) patients were assigned to active arm A and 32 (52.5%) patients to observational arm B. Twenty-nine (47.5%) patients, 10 patients in arm A and 19 in arm B, dropped out of the study. At 6 months MRSA was eradicated in 12 (63.2%) out of 19 patients in arm A while spontaneous clearance was observed in 5 (38.5%) out of 13 patients in arm B. A per-protocol analysis showed a 24.7% difference in the proportion of MRSA clearance between the two groups (z = 1.37, P(Z>z) = 0.08). Twenty-seven patients, 15 (78.9%) out of 19 in arm A and 12 (92.3%) out of 13 in arm B, were able to perform spirometry. The mean (±SD) FEV1 change from baseline was 7.13% (±14.92) in arm A and -1.16% (±5.25) in arm B (p = 0.08). In the same period the BMI change (mean ±SD) from baseline was 0.54 (±1.33) kg/m2 in arm A and -0.38 (±1.56) kg/m2 in arm B (p = 0.08). At 6 months no statistically significant differences regarding the number of pulmonary exacerbations, days spent in hospital and use of antibiotics were observed between the two arms.ConclusionsAlthough the statistical power of the study is limited, we found a 24.7% higher clearance of MRSA in the active arm than in the observational arm at 6 months. Patients in the active arm A also had favorable FEV1 and BMI tendencies.
Project description:The lack of new antibacterial drugs entering the market and their misuse have resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, posing a major health crisis worldwide. In particular, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a pathogen responsible for numerous human infections, has become endemic in hospitals worldwide. Drug repurposing, the finding of new therapeutic indications for approved drugs, is deemed a plausible solution to accelerate drug discovery and development in this area. Towards this end, we screened 1163 drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bioactivities against MRSA in a 10 ?M single-point assay. After excluding known antibiotics and antiseptics, six compounds were identified and their MICs were determined against a panel of clinical MRSA strains. A toxicity assay using human keratinocytes was also conducted to gauge their potential for repurposing as topical agents for treating MRSA skin infections.
Project description:The English Department of Health introduced universal MRSA screening of admissions to English hospitals in 2010. It commissioned a national audit to review implementation, impact on patient management, admission prevalence and extra yield of MRSA identified compared to "high-risk" specialty or "checklist-activated" screening (CLAS) of patients with MRSA risk factors.National audit May 2011. Questionnaires to infection control teams in all English NHS acute trusts, requesting number patients admitted and screened, new or previously known MRSA; MRSA point prevalence; screening and isolation policies; individual risk factors and patient management for all new MRSA patients and random sample of negatives.144/167 (86.2%) trusts responded. Individual patient data for 760 new MRSA patients and 951 negatives. 61% of emergency admissions (median 67.3%), 81% (median 59.4%) electives and 47% (median 41.4%) day-cases were screened. MRSA admission prevalence: 1% (median 0.9%) emergencies, 0.6% (median 0.4%) electives, 0.4% (median 0%) day-cases. Approximately 50% all MRSA identified was new. Inpatient MRSA point prevalence: 3.3% (median 2.9%). 104 (77%) trusts pre-emptively isolated patients with previous MRSA, 63 (35%) pre-emptively isolated admissions to "high-risk" specialties; 7 (5%) used PCR routinely. Mean time to MRSA positive result: 2.87 days (±1.33); 37% (219/596) newly identified MRSA patients discharged before result available; 55% remainder (205/376) isolated post-result. In an average trust, CLAS would reduce screening by 50%, identifying 81% of all MRSA. "High risk" specialty screening would reduce screening by 89%, identifying 9% of MRSA.Implementation of universal screening was poor. Admission prevalence (new cases) was low. CLAS reduced screening effort for minor decreases in identification, but implementation may prove difficult. Cost effectiveness of this and other policies, awaits evaluation by transmission dynamic economic modelling, using data from this audit. Until then trusts should seek to improve implementation of current policy and use of isolation facilities.
Project description:This study investigated the evolution and epidemiology of the community-associated and multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus clone European CC1-MRSA-IV. Whole-genome sequences were obtained for 194 European CC1-MRSA-IV isolates (189 of human and 5 of animal origin) from 12 countries, and 10 meticillin-susceptible precursors (from North-Eastern Romania; all of human origin) of the clone. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using a maximum-likelihood approach, a time-measured phylogeny was reconstructed using Bayesian analysis, and in silico microarray genotyping was performed to identify resistance, virulence-associated and SCCmec (staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec) genes. Isolates were typically sequence type 1 (190/204) and spa type t127 (183/204). Bayesian analysis indicated that European CC1-MRSA-IV emerged in approximately 1995 before undergoing rapid expansion in the late 1990s and 2000s, while spreading throughout Europe and into the Middle East. Phylogenetic analysis revealed an unstructured meticillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) population, lacking significant geographical or temporal clusters. The MRSA were genotypically multidrug-resistant, consistently encoded seh, and intermittently (34/194) encoded an undisrupted hlb gene with concomitant absence of the lysogenic phage-encoded genes sak and scn. All MRSA also harboured a characteristic ~5350 nt insertion in SCCmec adjacent to orfX. Detailed demographic data from Denmark showed that there, the clone is typically (25/35) found in the community, and often (10/35) among individuals with links to South-Eastern Europe. This study elucidated the evolution and epidemiology of European CC1-MRSA-IV, which emerged from a meticillin-susceptible lineage prevalent in North-Eastern Romania before disseminating rapidly throughout Europe.
Project description:We describe two false-negative results in the detection of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) of sequence type 398 and spa type t011 using the Cepheid Xpert MRSA NxG assay. The isolates were recovered in late February and early March 2021 from two patients in different hospitals in the northern Netherlands. Variations between the two isolate genomes indicate that this MRSA strain might have been spreading for some time and could have disseminated to other regions of the Netherlands and other European countries.
Project description:BACKGROUND: Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections remain important medical and veterinary challenges. The MRSA isolated from dogs and cats typically belong to dominant hospital-associated clones, in the UK mostly EMRSA-15 (CC22 SCCmecIV), suggesting original human-to-animal transmission. Nevertheless, little is known about host-specific genetic variation within the same S. aureus lineage. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To identify host-specific variation amongst MRSA CC22 SCCmecIV by comparing isolates from pets with those from in-contact humans using whole-genome microarray. METHODS: Six pairs of MRSA CC22 SCCmecIV from human carriers (owners and veterinary staff) and their respective infected in-contact pets were compared using a 62-strain whole-genome S. aureus microarray (SAM-62). The presence of putative host-specific genes was subsequently determined in a larger number of human (n = 47) and pet isolates (n = 93) by PCR screening. RESULTS: Variation in mobile genetic elements (MGEs) occurred frequently and appeared largE: The variation found amongst MGEs highlights that genetic adaptation in MRSA continues. However, host-specific MGEs were not detected, which supports the hypothesis that pets may not be natural hosts of MRSA CC22 and emphasizes that rigorous hygiene measures are critical to prevent contamination and infection of dogs and cats. The host specificity of individual heavy-metal resistance genes warrants further investigation into different selection pressures in humans and animals.
Project description:Resistance to meticillin and vancomycin in Staphylococcus aureus significantly complicates the management of severe infections like bacteraemia, endocarditis or osteomyelitis. Here, we review the molecular mechanisms and genomic epidemiology of resistance to these agents, with a focus on how genomics has provided insights into the emergence and evolution of major meticillin-resistant S. aureus clones. We also provide insights on the use of bacterial whole-genome sequencing to inform management of S. aureus infections and for control of transmission at the hospital and in the community.
Project description:The role of general practitioners (GPs) as reservoir and potential source for Staphylococcus aureus (SA) transmission is unknown. Our primary objective was to evaluate the prevalence of SA and community-acquired methicillin resistant SA (CA-MRSA) carrier status (including spa typing) among GPs and their patients in Belgium. The secondary objective was to determine the association between SA/CA-MRSA carriage in patients and their characteristics, SA carriage in GPs, GP and practice characteristics.The Belgian GPs, who swabbed their patients in the APRES study (which assessed the prevalence of SA nasal carriage in nine European countries; November 2010 -June 2011), were asked to swab themselves as well (May-June 2011). GPs and their patients had to complete a questionnaire on factors related to SA carriage and transmission. SA isolation including CA-MRSA and spa typing was performed on the swabs.In eighteen practices 34 GPs swabbed patients of which 25 GPs provided personal swabs. The analysis was performed on 3008 patient records. Among GPs SA carriage (28%) was more prevalent than among their patients (19.2%), but CA-MRSA carriage was not present. SA was more prevalent among younger patients and those living with cattle. Spa typing SA and MRSA strains did not suggest correlation within practices or between patients and GPs, but chronic skin conditions of GPs and always handshaking patients by SA positive GPs were associated with more SA among patients, and hand washing after every patient contact with less SA among patients in practices with high antibiotic prescribing rates.No MRSA was found among GPs, although their SA carriership was higher compared to their patients'. Spa types did not cluster within practices, possibly due to difference in timing of swabbing. To minimise SA transmission to their patients GPs should consider taking appropriate care of their chronic skin diseases, antibiotic prescribing behaviour, handshaking and hand washing habits.
Project description:BackgroundCystic fibrosis is an inherited life-threatening multisystem disorder with lung disease characterized by abnormally thick airway secretions and persistent bacterial infection. Chronic, progressive lung disease is the most important cause of morbidity and mortality in the condition and is therefore the main focus of clinical care and research. Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of chest infection in people with cystic fibrosis. Early onset, as well as chronic, lung infection with this organism in young children and adults results in worsening lung function, poorer nutrition and increases the airway inflammatory response, thus leading to a poor overall clinical outcome. There are currently no evidence-based guidelines for chronic suppressive therapy for Staphylococcus aureus infection in cystic fibrosis such as those used for Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. This is an update of a previously published review.ObjectivesTo assess the evidence regarding the effectiveness of long-term antibiotic treatment regimens for chronic infection with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infection in people with cystic fibrosis and to determine whether this leads to improved clinical and microbiological outcomes.Search methodsTrials were identified by searching the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group's Cystic Fibrosis Trials Register, MEDLINE, Embase, handsearching article reference lists and through contact with local and international experts in the field. Date of the last search of the Group's Cystic Fibrosis Trials Register: 09 February 2018.We also searched ongoing trials databases. Date of latest search: 20 May 2018.Selection criteriaRandomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing any combinations of topical, inhaled, oral or intravenous antimicrobials used as suppressive therapy for chronic infection with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus compared with placebo or no treatment.Data collection and analysisThe authors independently assessed all search results for eligibility. No eligible trials were identified.Main resultsThe searches identified 58 trials, but none were eligible for inclusion in the current version of this review.Authors' conclusionsNo randomised controlled trials were identified which met the inclusion criteria for this review. Although methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus is an important and common cause of lung infection in people with cystic fibrosis, there is no agreement on how best to treat long-term infection. The review highlights the need to organise well-designed trials that can provide evidence to support the best management strategy for chronic methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus infection in people with cystic fibrosis.