Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in meat products, the Netherlands.

A new methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clone related to pig and cattle farming was detected in the Netherlands. We investigated the extent of S. aureus presence in meat and found 36 S.

Increase in a Dutch hospital of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus related to animal farming.

In The Netherlands, patients exposed to pigs or veal calves were recently shown to be at high risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage. In Amphia Hospital (Breda, The Netherlands), 32% of patients in this risk group were shown to carry MRSA. This resulted in a 3-fold increase in the annual MRSA incidence.

Comparative evaluation of the VITEK 2, disk diffusion, etest, broth microdilution, and agar dilution susceptibility testing methods for colistin in clinical isolates, including heteroresistant Enterobacter cloacae and Acinetobacter baumannii strains.

Increasing antibiotic resistance in gram-negative bacteria has recently renewed interest in colistin as a therapeutic option. The increasing use of colistin necessitates the availability of rapid and reliable methods for colistin susceptibility testing. We compared seven methods of colistin susceptibility testing (disk diffusion, agar dilution on Mueller-Hinton [MH] and Isosensitest agar, Etest on MH and Isosensitest agar, broth microdilution, and VITEK 2) on 102 clinical isolates collected from patient materials during a selective digestive decontamination or selective oral decontamination trial in an intensive-care unit.

Pseudo-outbreak of hepatitis B virus infection associated with contamination of a semiautomatic cap remover.

A pseudo-outbreak of hepatitis B virus caused by cross-contamination from a semiautomatic cap remover for blood collection tubes is reported. The source of the outbreak was elucidated by using basic epidemiological methods. Laboratories should always be critical about their results in order to identify contamination problems.

Performance of MRSA ID, a new chromogenic medium for detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

MRSA ID was evaluated for its ability to identify methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. A well-defined collection of staphylococci was used (n = 998). The sensitivity after 24 h was 96.

Emergence and persistence of macrolide resistance in oropharyngeal flora and elimination of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus after therapy with slow-release clarithromycin: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

To investigate the effect of slow-release (SR) clarithromycin on colonization and the development of resistance in oropharyngeal and nasal flora, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was performed with 8 weeks of follow-up. A total of 296 patients with documented coronary artery disease were randomized in the preoperative outpatient clinic to receive a daily dose of SR clarithromycin (500 mg) (CL group) or placebo tablets (PB group) until the day of surgery. Nose and throat swabs were taken before the start of therapy, directly after the end of therapy, and 8 weeks later.

Recent developments in the prevention of surgical site infections: preoperative screening and postoperative surveillance.

The purpose of this review is to cover the literature on the prevention of postsurgical infections in the period January 2002 to May 2003. Only articles that address novel insights in the prevention of infections are included in this review. The most interesting findings were observed in preoperative screening of patients for nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus.

Risk and outcome of nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in nasal carriers versus non-carriers.

Staphylococcus aureus is the second most frequent cause of nosocomial blood infections. We screened 14008 non-bacteraemic, non-surgical patients for S aureus nasal carriage at admission, and monitored them for development of bacteraemia. Nosocomial S aureus bacteraemia was three times more frequent in S aureus carriers (40/3420, 1.

Mupirocin prophylaxis against nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus infections in nonsurgical patients: a randomized study.

Background: Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage is a major risk factor for nosocomial S. aureus infection. Studies show that intranasal mupirocin can prevent nosocomial surgical site infections.