Department of Public Health - Acute Communicable Disease Control

"Staph" or Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CAMRSA) Information

MRSA by Subject

Animals

MRSA From Swine Pneumococcal vaccination in the childhood vaccination programme, Blood donor screening 2006 (8/15/2007)
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ST398 in Humans and Animals, Central Europe (Emerging Infectious Diseases, February 2007) Recent reports, have documented MRSA infections in animals and pets.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Companion Animals (Dec 2005)

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pig Farming (Dec 2005)

Athletes & Sports Teams

MRSA: Fighting The Superbug 60 Minutes video article on MRSA (November2007)
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): Infection Control Prevention Recommendations The NCAA Committee in Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) has reviewed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Medical Alert regarding methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a cause of communicable skin infections. The CSMAS recommends that NCAA departments of athletics, and in particular the sports medicine staff, review the information that identifies risk factors, and note that maintaining good hygiene and avoiding contact with drainage from skin lesions are the best methods for preventing the spread of MRSA.
Public Health Ground Rounds: MRSA Prevention In Athletic Settings Resources including brochure and video links.
Information for Athletes about MRSA from the California Department of Public Health (February, 2007)
Community Associated MRSA/Staph: A Guideline for Athletic Departments (California Department of Public Health, 2007)
Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Skin Infection Presenting as an Axillary Abscess with Cellulitis in a College Athlete (Medscape, 2005) A 19-year-old black man without risk factors for MRSA develops axillary boils after lifting weights at a university gym.
Recurring Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in a Football Team (Emerging Infectious Diseases, April 2005)
A Clone of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Professional Football Players (New England Journal of Medicine, Feb. 3, 2005) Provides a summary of an outbreak of abscesses due to MRSA among members of a professional football team and examines the transmission and microbiologic characteristics of the outbreak strain.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections Among Competitive Sports Participants --- Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Los Angeles County, 2000-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Aug. 22, 2003) The potential of MRSA infections among sports participants; the need for health-care providers to be aware that skin and soft tissue infections occurring in these settings might be caused by MRSA; and the importance of implementing prevention measures by players, coaches, parents and school and team administrators.
Public Health Dispatch: Outbreaks of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections --- Los Angeles County, California, 2002-2003 This report describes investigations of CA-MRSA in Los Angeles County.

Correctional Facilities

Impact of a Standardized Protocol for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Skin infections at a large, urban county jail system.
BOP (Federal Bureau of Prisons) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA Infections (Aug 2005) Updated recommendations for the prevention, treatment and containment of MRSA within Federal correctional facilities are provided.
Texas Department of State Health Services Recommendations and prevention strategies on Staphylococcal Infections for jail administrators.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Correctional Facilities - Georgia, California, and Texas, 2001-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Oct 17., 2003) This report summarizes recent investigations of MRSA transmission among inmates of correctional facilities in Georgia, California, and Texas. Inadequate personal hygiene, barriers to medical care, and other factors contributed to transmission.
Public Health Dispatch: Outbreaks of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections - Los Angeles County, California, 2002-2003 (MMWR Weekly, Feb. 7, 2003; also in The Public’s Health, Feb. 2003*) This report describes investigations of CA-MRSA in Los Angeles County.

General

Public Health Responding to New Threat of Staph Infections (Medscape, August 2006) Staph, a bacteria so common that its mention hardly raises an eyebrow in health circles, is making a comeback, marking the emergence of a new public health threat.
MRSA Most Common Cause of Skin and Soft-Tissue Infections in Major US Cities (Medscape, August 2006)

Hospitalized Patients

Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Causing Healthcare-associated Infections (Emerging Infectious Diseases, February 2007) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most frequently identified antimicrobial drug–resistant pathogen in US hospitals.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Taiwan (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Nov 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Minnesota, 2000–2003 (Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Hospital Nursery and Maternity Units (EID, June 2005)

International

Occurrence of the USA300 community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus clone in Austria (Eurosurveillance, October 2007)
Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Switzerland : first surveillance report (Eurosurveillance, January 2006)
Community-Acquired MRSA in Bulgaria (Eurosurveillance, June, 2007) First cases of infections caused by Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive in Bulgaria.
Surveillance Report: Monitoring CA-MRSA Infections in Slovenia (Eurosurveillance, September 2005)
Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Genes in Staphylococcus aureus in the Netherlands (EID, July 2006)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Switzerland (Eurosurveillance, January 2006)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Taiwan (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Nov 2005)
Internationally Adopted Children as a Source for MRSA (Eurosurveillance, Oct 2005)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Western Australia (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Oct 2005)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Necrotizing Pneumonia (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Oct 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Canada (EID, June 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Switzerland (Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Uruguay
(Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2005)
Community Acquired MRSA Infections in a Pediatric Population in Greece (Eurosurveillance, May 2005)
Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Genes in Staphylococcus aureus (EID, July 2006)
Surveillance Report: Community Acquired PVL + MRSA in Ireland (Eurosurveillance, April 2005) This article reports the emergence of lukS-lukF-positive MRSA in the community in Ireland.
Surveillance Report: Panton-Valentine Leukocidin [PVL] Positive MRSA in 2003: The Dutch Situation (Eurosurveillance, Nov. 2004) This article summarizes the characteristics of PVL-MRSA in the Netherlands in the year 2003.
Report on the first PVL-positive community acquired MRSA strain in Latvia (Eurosurveillance, Nov. 2004) This article summarizes the study of 142 PVL-MRSA positive patients in five Latvian hospitals in Riga and Liepaja from April 2003 to February 2004.
Emergence of a new community acquired MRSA strain in Germany (Eurosurveillance, Jan. 2004) This article reports the emergence of lukS-lukF-positive MRSA in hospitals and in the community in Germany.
Emergence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive community-acquired MRSA infections in Belgium (Eurosurveillance, Jun. 10, 2004) This article reports the first two identified cases of PVL+ CAMRSA infections in Belgium.
Panton-Valentine leukocidin positive community-acquired MRSA infection in Japan (Eurosurveillance, Jun. 10, 2004) This article reports the first case of CAMRSA isolated outside of a hospital from the skin of a child with impetigo contagiosa.

HIV + Population

Risk factors for community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men. (Clinical Infectious Diseases, May 15, 2005)
Increasing rates of CA-MRSA occurring among HIV patients (Infectious Disease News, October 2006) Risk factors for CA-MRSA in people living with HIV include history of syphilis infection and recent use of beta-lactam antibiotics. "Article available with free registration"
Community-Onset Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an Urban HIV Clinic (Medscape, August 2006) Staphylococcus aureus skin infections in this HIV clinic were almost exclusively caused by methicillin-resistant strains. High rates of the PVL gene and SCCmecIV were consistent with CO-MRSA isolates.

Legislation

Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance Act: Support legislation (IDSA, September 2007)

Men Who Have Sex With Men

Health Advisory: CA-MRSA Infections in San Francisco (January 2008)
CDC Statement on MRSA in MSM (January 2008)

Pediatric

Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection Among Healthy Newborns --- Chicago and Los Angeles County, 2004 (MMWR Weekly, March 31, 2006) This report describes two independent investigations by local health departments, assisted by CDC, into outbreaks of MRSA skin infection among otherwise healthy, full-term newborns delivered at hospitals in Chicago, Illinois, and LA County, California.
Characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus Infections, Chicago Pediatric Hospital (Emerging Infectious Diseases, February 2007) Invasive and skin community-associated (CA)–methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates from children were matched with invasive CA–methicillin-sensitive S. aureus strains.
MRSA Increasingly Common Among Previously Healthy Newborns (Pediatrics, September 2006) Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) accounts for an increasing proportion of S. aureus infections in previously healthy neonates, according to a report in the September issue of Pediatrics.
Contrasting Pediatric and Adult Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Isolates (EID, April 2006)
Community-Acquired MRSA: Evolving Pathogens (Medscape, July 2005) Free registration required to access articles. Includes epidemiology overview, molecular basis for resistance, clinical experiences of CA-MRSA and approaches to CA-MRSA prevention.
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Hospital Nursery and Maternity Units (Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2005)
Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pediatric Patients (Emerging Infectious Diseases, June 2005)
Community acquired MRSA infections in a paediatric population in Greece (Eurosurveillance, May 2005)

Pacific Islanders

Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Pacific Islanders - Hawaii, 2001-2003 Retrospective study summarizes CAMRSA infections in Hawaii, which found a disproportionate number of infections among Pacific Islanders as compared to other racial groups. (MMWR Weekly, Aug. 27, 2004)

Schools

Questions and Answers about MRSA in Schools (CDC, October 2007)
Skin Infections and MRSA Information for Schools (October 2007)

Special Studies

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Outbreak in a Burn Unit: The Emergence of a Rare MRSA Clone - Los Angeles County, 2005 (2005 Special Study)
Community-Associated Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in the Los Angeles County Jail: A 4-Year Review (2005 Special Study)
Outbreaks of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, L.A. County (2004 Special Study)
Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection From Breast Milk, Two Case Reports - L.A. County, 2004 (2004 Special Study)
Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Skin Infections in Athletes, 2003 (2003 Special Study)
Investigation of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Skin Infections Among HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex With Men
(2003 Special Study)
Population Surveillance for Pediatric Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Straphylococcus Aureus in L.A. County (2003 Special Study)
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Outbreak in L.A. County Jail System (2002 Special Study)
Outbreak of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Skin Infections Among Athletes (2002 Special Study)

Surveillance

Invasive MRSA Infections in the US (JAMA, October 2007: Subscription required)
S. aureus and MRSA Surveillance Summary 2007 (CDC, October 2007)
S. aureus and MRSA Surveillance Summary 2007 (CDC, October 2007)
Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is Epidemic in the United States and Much of the Developed World (Medscape Infectious Diseases, October 2005)

Isolate Removal Methods and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Surveillance (Emerging Infectious Diseases, October 2005)

Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in Pacific Islanders - Hawaii, 2001-2003 (Emerging Infectious Diseases, Aug 2005)

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Disease in Three Communities Investigators evaluated MRSA infections in patients identified from population-based surveillance in Baltimore and Atlanta and from hospital-laboratory-based sentinel surveillance of 12 hospitals in Minnesota.

Tattoo Recipients

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infections Among Tattoo Recipients --- Ohio, Kentucky, and Vermont, 2004-2005 (MMWR, June 2006)

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