Molecular study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates at a neonatal high-risk unit in Merida, Venezuela.

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a multiresistant microorganisms which holds first place in the world as a nosocomial pathogen. Special attention has therefore been directed to specific nosocomial surveillance systems and strict infection control measures for this microorganism in which the microbiological laboratory plays an important role by applying phenotypic and genotypic methods that permit establishing their epidemiological relationship especially in hospital outbreaks. In the present study the general objective was to study MRSA strains isolated from neonates with nosocomial infections and from healthcare personnel working in the Neonatal High Risk Unit (NHRU) of the Andes University Hospital Autonomous Institute (AUHAI) in Mérida, Venezuela.

Molecular epidemiology and characterization of resistance mechanisms to various antimicrobial agents in Acinetobacter baumannii isolated in Mérida, Venezuela.

Background: A. baumannii outbreaks are difficult to control because of the relative ease with which this microorganism spreads and persists in hospital settings. Successive papers reported increased resistance in clinical isolates of A.

[Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus nosocomial infections in a high-risk neonatal unit].

Nosocomial infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. In developing countries it is difficult to carry out effective surveillance and control programs for this type of infection because of the cost in both human and material resources. These considerations prompted us to perform a prospective study to determine the epidemiologic and microbiologic characteristics of nosocomial infections due to Staphylococcus aureus in the High-risk Neonatal Unit (HRNU) of the Instituto Autónomo Hospital Universitario de Los Andes (IAHULA), during the period of November 1997 to October 1998.