A study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found that family members of hospitalized patients were at a higher risk of becoming infected with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), whether the patient had been diagnosed with an MRSA infection or not. When a hospitalized person was diagnosed with MRSA in hospital, their family members were 7000% more likely to contract an MRSA infection than someone who had no contact with a person in hospital. Even the family members of a patient who was hospitalized but not diagnosed with an MRSA infection were still 44% more likely than to become infected. The longer the patient spent in hospital, the higher the likelihood that one of their family members would contract MRSA[1].
This finding highlights how easily a resistant organism can spread from the hospital setting to the community through asymptomatic carriers, increasing both the risks of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread.
Timely and accurate laboratory testing, screening and reporting of MRSA in hospitalized patients is fundamental in the fight against AMR. Although decolonization of individuals is not recommended except for specific cases3, identifying carriers and educating the patients and their families on how to decrease the chance for spreading of the organism is key in reducing the spread of this and other resistant organisms in the community.
According to the World Health Organization, “AMR is one of the top global health and development threats,” and is estimated to have contributed to almost 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019. Increased resistance to antimicrobials has been driven by the inappropriate use of antimicrobial agents in a number of settings, including healthcare and agriculture. Priorities in the fight to address AMR include preventing infections in the first place, accurate diagnostic testing – including testing and screening for antimicrobial resistance[2], and developing novel antimicrobials to which organisms have not built up a resistance.
If your lab could use some extra training on the detection of MRSA and other pathogens, CMPT offers a Screening/Molecular program that might suit your needs. Our simulated samples will help ensure that your lab is ready for the challenges of detecting antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. We offer CRE, Group A Strep, Group B Strep, MRSA, and VRE. See our catalog for more details.
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555463/
[2] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
