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Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasingly recognized in infections among persons in the community without established risk factors for MRSA.Methods: We enrolled adult patients with acute, purulent skin and soft-tissue infections presenting to 11 university-affiliated emergency departments during the month of August 2004. Cultures were obtained, and clinical information was collected. Available S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial-susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and detection of toxin genes. On MRSA isolates, we performed typing of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec), the genetic element that carries the mecA gene encoding methicillin resistance.Results: S. aureus was isolated from 320 of 422 patients with skin and soft-tissue infections (76 percent). The prevalence of MRSA was 59 percent overall and ranged from 15 to 74 percent. Pulsed-field type USA300 isolates accounted for 97 percent of MRSA isolates; 74 percent of these were a single strain (USA300-0114). SCCmec type IV and the Panton-Valentine leukocidin toxin gene were detected in 98 percent of MRSA isolates. Other toxin genes were detected rarely. Among the MRSA isolates, 95 percent were susceptible to clindamycin, 6 percent to erythromycin, 60 percent to fluoroquinolones, 100 percent to rifampin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and 92 percent to tetracycline. Antibiotic therapy was not concordant with the results of susceptibility testing in 100 of 175 patients with MRSA infection who received antibiotics (57 percent). Among methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates, 31 percent were USA300 and 42 percent contained pvl genes.Conclusions: MRSA is the most common identifiable cause of skin and soft-tissue infections among patients presenting to emergency departments in 11 U.S. cities. When antimicrobial therapy is indicated for the treatment of skin and soft-tissue infections, clinicians should consider obtaining cultures and modifying empirical therapy to provide MRSA coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals on farms may be a potential reservoir and environmental source of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Expanded surveillance methods for animal-associated MRSA are needed. To develop an environmental sampling method and to determine the correlation between animal and environmental MRSA positivity in the farm setting, we sampled horses, cattle, and their local environments at several farms in the mid-Atlantic United States. We obtained nasal swabs from 13 racehorses at first visit, and 11 racehorses at the same farm eight weeks later. We also sampled 26 pleasure horses and 26 beef cattle from two additional farm sites. Sterilized electrostatic cloths were used to collect dry dust samples from environmental surfaces in proximity to animals; cloths were cultured using a broth enrichment protocol. We described isolates by genotype and antimicrobial susceptibility phenotype. None of the samples (nasal or environmental) were positive from the pleasure horse farm or the cattle farm. On the racehorse farm, 8/13 (61%) nasal and 5/7 (71%) environmental samples were positive for MRSA at the first visit. Isolates found were indistinguishable by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genotype. We observed significant positive correlation between nasal carriage of MRSA in animals and our ability to isolate MRSA from dry surface samples of their local environments. The methods presented here may aid in surveillance efforts for equine and other animal MRSA. This study successfully applies existing MRSA surveillance methods for indoor, high animal density settings to outdoor and low-density farms., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common cause of skin infections. Recent case series describe severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by MRSA, but the prevalence and risk factors are unknown., Methods: We prospectively enrolled adults hospitalized with CAP from 12 university-affiliated emergency departments during the winter-spring of 2006 and 2007. Clinical information and culture results were collected, and factors associated with MRSA were assessed., Results: Of 627 patients, 595 (95%) had respiratory (50%) and/or blood cultures (92%) performed. A pathogen was identified in 102 (17%); MRSA was identified in 14 (2.4%; range by site, 0%-5%) patients and in 5% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Two (14%) MRSA pneumonia patients died. All 9 MRSA isolates tested were pulsed-field type USA300. Features significantly associated with isolation of MRSA (as compared with any other or no pathogen) included patient history of MRSA; nursing home admission in the previous year; close contact in the previous month with someone with a skin infection; multiple infiltrates or cavities on chest radiograph; and comatose state, intubation, receipt of pressors, or death in the emergency department., Conclusions: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus remains an uncommon cause of CAP. Detection of MRSA was associated with more severe clinical presentation.

We compared recovery of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) from nasal and groin swab specimens of 600 HIV-infected outpatients by selective and nonselective direct plating and broth enrichment. Swabs were collected at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month visits and cultured by direct plating to mannitol salt agar (MSA) and CHROMagar MRSA (CM) and overnight broth enrichment with subculture to MSA (broth). MRSA isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing, and PCR for the Panton-Valentine leukocidin. At each visit, 13 to 15% of patients were colonized with MRSA and 30 to 33% were colonized with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). Broth, CM, and MSA detected 95%, 82%, and 76% of MRSA-positive specimens, respectively. MRSA recovery was significantly higher from broth than CM (P ≤ 0.001) or MSA (P ≤ 0.001); there was no significant difference in recovery between MSA and CM. MSSA recovery also increased significantly when using broth than when using MSA (P ≤ 0.001). Among specimens collected from the groin, broth, CM, and MSA detected 88%, 54%, and 49% of the MRSA-positive isolates, respectively. Broth enrichment had a greater impact on recovery of MRSA from the groin than from the nose compared to both CM (P ≤ 0.001) and MSA (P ≤ 0.001). Overall, 19% of MRSA-colonized patients would have been missed with nasal swab specimen culture only. USA500/Iberian and USA300 were the most common MRSA strains recovered, and USA300 was more likely than other strain types to be recovered from the groin than from the nose (P = 0.05).

We describe a real-time PCR assay for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and genes encoding toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 and Panton-Valentine leukocidin. Rapid screening and detection of toxins is a useful tool for surveillance studies and outbreak investigations involving large numbers of isolates.

Background: In the past decade, new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains have emerged as a predominant cause of community-associated skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). Little information exists regarding trends in MRSA prevalence and molecular characteristics or regarding antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of S. aureus isolates., Methods: We enrolled adults with acute, purulent SSTIs presenting to a US network of 12 emergency departments during August 2008. Cultures and clinical information were collected. S. aureus isolates were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, and toxin genes detection. The prevalence of S. aureus and MRSA and isolate genetic characteristics and susceptibilities were compared with those from a similar study conducted in August 2004., Results: The prevalence of MRSA was 59% among all SSTIs during both study periods; however, the prevalence by site varied less in 2008 (38%-84%), compared with 2004 (15%-74%). Pulsed-field type USA300 continued to account for almost all MRSA isolates (98%). Susceptibility to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin, and tetracycline among MRSA isolates remained greater than 90% in 2008. A higher proportion of MRSA infections were treated with an agent to which the infecting isolate was susceptible in vitro in 2008 (97%), compared with 2004 (57%)., Conclusions: Similar to 2004, MRSA remained the most common identifiable cause of purulent SSTIs among patients presenting to a network of US emergency departments in 2008. The infecting MRSA isolates continued to be predominantly pulsed-field type USA300 and susceptible to recommended non-β-lactam oral agents. Clinician prescribing practices have shifted from MRSA-inactive to MRSA-active empirical antimicrobial regimens.

USA300 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates are usually resistant only to oxacillin, erythromycin, and, increasingly, levofloxacin. Of these, oxacillin and levofloxacin resistances are chromosomally encoded. Plasmid-mediated clindamycin, mupirocin, and/or tetracycline resistance has been observed among USA300 isolates, but these descriptions were limited to specific patient populations or isolated occurrences. We examined the antimicrobial susceptibilities of invasive MRSA isolates from a national surveillance population in order to identify USA300 isolates with unusual, possibly emerging, plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance. DNA from these isolates was assayed for the presence of resistance determinants and the presence of a pSK41-like conjugative plasmid. Of 823 USA300 isolates, 72 (9%) were tetracycline resistant; 69 of these were doxycycline susceptible and tetK positive, and 3 were doxycycline resistant and tetM positive. Fifty-one (6.2%) isolates were clindamycin resistant and ermC positive; 22 (2.7%) isolates were high-level mupirocin resistant (mupA positive); 5 (0.6%) isolates were trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) resistant, of which 4 were dfrA positive; and 7 (0.9%) isolates were gentamicin resistant and aac6'-aph2'' positive. Isolates with pSK41-like plasmids (n = 24) were positive for mupA (n = 19), dfrA (n = 6), aac6'-aph2'' (n = 6), tetM (n = 2), and ermC (n = 8); 20 pSK41-positive isolates were positive for two or more resistance genes. Conjugative transfer of resistance was demonstrated between four gentamicin- and mupirocin-resistant and three gentamicin- and TMP-SMZ-resistant USA300 isolates; transconjugants harbored a single pSK41-like plasmid, which was PCR positive for aac6'-aph2'' and either mupA and/or dfrA. USA300 and USA100 isolates from the same state with identical resistance profiles contained pSK41-like plasmids with indistinguishable restriction and Southern blot profiles, suggesting horizontal plasmid transfer between USA100 and USA300 isolates.

This study characterizes 1,984 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates collected in 2005 and 2006 from normally sterile sites in patients with invasive MRSA infection. These isolates represent a convenience sample of all invasive MRSA cases reported as part of the Active Bacterial Core surveillance system in eight states in the United States. The majority of isolates were from blood (83.8%), joints (4.1%), and bone (4.2%). Isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE); SCCmec typing; susceptibility to 15 antimicrobial agents; and PCR analysis of staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) to SEH, toxic shock syndrome toxin 1, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin. Thirteen established PFGE types were recognized among these isolates, although USA100 and USA300 predominated, accounting for 53.2% and 31.4% of the isolates, respectively. As expected, isolates from hospital onset cases were predominantly USA100, whereas those from community-associated cases were predominantly USA300. USA100 isolates were diverse (Simpson's discriminatory index [DI] = 0.924); generally positive only for enterotoxin D (74.5%); and resistant to clindamycin (98.6%), erythromycin (99.0%), and levofloxacin (99.6%), in addition to beta-lactam agents. USA300 isolates were less diverse (DI = 0.566), positive for Panton-Valentine leukocidin (96.3%), and resistant to erythromycin (94.1%) and, less commonly, levofloxacin (54.6%), in addition to beta-lactam agents. This collection provides a reference collection of MRSA isolates associated with invasive disease, collected in 2005 and 2006 in the United States, for future comparison and ongoing studies.

Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains have emerged in Uruguay. We reviewed Staphylococcus aureus isolates from a large healthcare facility in Montevideo (center A) and obtained information from 3 additional hospitals on patients infected with CA-MRSA. An infection was defined as healthcare-onset if the culture was obtained >48 hours after hospital admission. At center A, the proportion of S. aureus infections caused by CA-MRSA increased from 4% to 23% over 2 years; the proportion caused by healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) decreased from 25% to 5%. Of 182 patients infected with CA-MRSA, 38 (21%) had healthcare-onset infections. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis determined that 22 (92%) of 24 isolates were USA1100, a community strain. CA-MRSA has emerged in Uruguay and appears to have replaced HA-MRSA strains at 1 healthcare facility. In addition, CA-MRSA appears to cause healthcare-onset infections, a finding that emphasizes the need for infection control measures to prevent transmission within healthcare settings.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a common cause of infection, particularly in persons colonized by this organism. Virulent strains of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have emerged in the general community., Methods: A nationally representative survey of nasal colonization with S. aureus was conducted from 2001 through 2004 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. MRSA isolates were identified by the oxacillin disk-diffusion method. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) type was determined for all MRSA isolates. A t statistic was used to compare the prevalence of colonization across biennia and across population subgroups. Cofactors independently associated with colonization were determined with backward stepwise logistic modeling., Results: The prevalence of colonization with S. aureus decreased from 32.4% in 2001-2002 to 28.6% in 2003-2004 (P < .01), whereas the prevalence of colonization with MRSA increased from 0.8% to 1.5% (P < .05). Colonization with MRSA was independently associated with healthcare exposure in males and with having been born in the United States, age > or =60 years, diabetes, and poverty in females. In 2003-2004, a total of 19.7% (95% confidence interval, 12.4%-28.8%) of MRSA-colonized persons carried a PFGE type associated with community transmission., Conclusions: Nasal colonization with MRSA has increased in the United States, despite an overall decrease in nasal colonization with S. aureus. PFGE types associated with community transmission only partially account for the increase in MRSA colonization.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections and methamphetamine use are emerging public health problems. We conducted a case-control investigation to determine risk factors for MRSA skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in residents of a largely rural southeastern community in the United States. Case-patients were persons >12 years old who had culturable SSTIs; controls had no SSTIs. Of 119 SSTIs identified, 81 (68.1%) were caused by MRSA. Methamphetamine use was reported in 9.9% of case-patients and 1.8% of controls. After we adjusted for age, sex, and race, patients with MRSA SSTIs were more likely than controls to have recently used methamphetamine (odds ratio 5.10, 95% confidence interval 1.55-16.79). MRSA caused most SSTIs in this population. Transmission of MRSA may be occurring among methamphetamine users in this community.

Context: As the epidemiology of infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) changes, accurate information on the scope and magnitude of MRSA infections in the US population is needed., Objectives: To describe the incidence and distribution of invasive MRSA disease in 9 US communities and to estimate the burden of invasive MRSA infections in the United States in 2005., Design and Setting: Active, population-based surveillance for invasive MRSA in 9 sites participating in the Active Bacterial Core surveillance (ABCs)/Emerging Infections Program Network from July 2004 through December 2005. Reports of MRSA were investigated and classified as either health care-associated (either hospital-onset or community-onset) or community-associated (patients without established health care risk factors for MRSA)., Main Outcome Measures: Incidence rates and estimated number of invasive MRSA infections and in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA in the United States in 2005; interval estimates of incidence excluding 1 site that appeared to be an outlier with the highest incidence; molecular characterization of infecting strains., Results: There were 8987 observed cases of invasive MRSA reported during the surveillance period. Most MRSA infections were health care-associated: 5250 (58.4%) were community-onset infections, 2389 (26.6%) were hospital-onset infections; 1234 (13.7%) were community-associated infections, and 114 (1.3%) could not be classified. In 2005, the standardized incidence rate of invasive MRSA was 31.8 per 100,000 (interval estimate, 24.4-35.2). Incidence rates were highest among persons 65 years and older (127.7 per 100,000; interval estimate, 92.6-156.9), blacks (66.5 per 100,000; interval estimate, 43.5-63.1), and males (37.5 per 100,000; interval estimate, 26.8-39.5). There were 1598 in-hospital deaths among patients with MRSA infection during the surveillance period. In 2005, the standardized mortality rate was 6.3 per 100,000 (interval estimate, 3.3-7.5). Molecular testing identified strains historically associated with community-associated disease outbreaks recovered from cultures in both hospital-onset and community-onset health care-associated infections in all surveillance areas., Conclusions: Invasive MRSA infection affects certain populations disproportionately. It is a major public health problem primarily related to health care but no longer confined to intensive care units, acute care hospitals, or any health care institution.

Our objective was to determine if a multiple-locus variable-number tandem-repeat assay (MLVA) for Staphylococcus aureus could predict pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types (i.e., USA types), thus allowing us to replace PFGE with a simpler and more rapid typing method. One hundred three well-characterized isolates representing 13 major lineages of S. aureus were tested by both PFGE and MLVA. MLVA was performed using a rapid DNA extraction technique and PCR primers for sdrCDE, clfA, clfB, sspA, and spa. PFGE was performed with genomic DNA fragments generated using SmaI, as per CDC protocols. Banding patterns were analyzed both visually and with BioNumerics software. All isolates were typeable with MLVA and PFGE. MLVA patterns were highly reproducible. PFGE separated the isolates into 13 types with 42 subtypes. Using any band difference to designate a novel MLVA type, MLVA produced 45 types, including 9 clusters containing multiple isolates. Using BioNumerics and a cutoff of >75% relatedness, MLVA produced 28 types, 11 of which contained >1 isolate. Epidemiologically related outbreak isolates of USA300-0114 from five states clustered in one MLVA pattern. USA100 isolates were present in several unrelated (<40%) MLVA types. A cutoff of >80% separated outbreak strains of USA300-0114 into three distinct MLVA types. MLVA did not differentiate community methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) lineages (USA300, USA400, USA1000, and USA1100) from health care MRSA lineages (USA100, USA200, or USA500). The ability of MLVA to differentiate among strains that are indistinguishable by PFGE may be of epidemiologic value and warrants further study.

We tested 214 Staphylococcus aureus isolates for the arcA locus of the arginine catabolic mobile element (ACME). All USA300 SCCmec IVa isolates, but no isolates containing other SCCmec subtypes, were arcA positive. arcA was also detected in selected methicillin-susceptible USA300 and methicillin-resistant USA100 isolates. DNA sequence analysis confirmed the integration of ACME in orfX.

AdvanDx VRE EVIGENE, a commercial vanA/vanB DNA hybridization assay to identify vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), was evaluated for the detection of vanA in Staphylococcus aureus. Performance was assessed using S. aureus, VRE, and vancomycin-intermediate and -susceptible isolates. The assay demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity when analyzed visually and by optical density.

During the 2003-04 influenza season, 17 cases of Staphylococcus aureus community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were reported from 9 states; 15 (88%) were associated with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The median age of patients was 21 years; 5 (29%) had underlying diseases, and 4 (24%) had risk factors for MRSA. Twelve (71%) had laboratory evidence of influenza virus infection. All but 1 patient, who died on arrival, were hospitalized. Death occurred in 5 (4 with MRSA). S. aureus isolates were available from 13 (76%) patients (11 MRSA). Toxin genes were detected in all isolates; 11 (85%) had only genes for Panton-Valentine leukocidin. All isolates had community-associated pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns; all MRSA isolates had the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type IVa. In communities with a high prevalence of MRSA, empiric therapy of severe CAP during periods of high influenza activity should include consideration for MRSA.