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ISSUE 3 JUNE
Letters to the Editor

MRSA: the storm clouds travel from hospital to community

  • Gabriel Rodrigues, Sohil Ahmed Khan, Ronan J. Murray

The Editorial Executive Committee welcomes letters, which should be less than 250 words. Before a decision to publish is made, letters which refer to a published article may be sent to the author for a response. Any letter may be sent to an expert for comment. When letters are published, they are usually accompanied in the same issue by their responses or comments. The Committee screens out discourteous, inaccurate or libellous statements. The letters are sub-edited before publication. Authors are required to declare any conflicts of interest. The Committee's decision on publication is final.

 

Letter to the Editor

Editor, – We read with interest the article Community acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection' (Aust Prescr 2005;28:155). In a developing country like India, a significant number of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are being acquired from the community.1 We need to curtail infection as quickly as possible and alter any long established practices which may be enhancing the development and spread of MRSA.2

The major problem is the inappropriate use of antibiotics. Given the increasing ecological pressure of antibiotics globally, bacteria respond by becoming resistant. Faced with the established scientific evidence of a relationship between antimicrobial use and MRSA prevalence, we suggest restricting the use of certain antimicrobial classes as an adjunct to infection control practices, which should be reinforced to fight MRSA in hospitals. The prescribing that led to the selection of MRSA can be identified by studying local retrospective data.

Basic hygiene is also important in the continued fight against pathogens.3 One needs to consider the epidemiological and physical properties of staphylococci, and each component of their transmission cycle between man and the environment. There is evidence to support hygienic measures at every stage.4

Gabriel Rodrigues
Associate Professor and Consultant Surgeon
Department of Surgery
Kasturba Medical College
Manipal

Sohil Ahmed Khan
Lecturer and Clinical Pharmacist
Department of Pharmacy Practice
Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Manipal, India

 

References

  1. Krishna BV, Patil AB, Chandrasekhar MR. Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in a south Indian city. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 2004;35:371-4.
  2. Spigelman M. MRSA - why treat the symptoms and not the disease? Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2005;87:452-3.
  3. Aiello AE, Larson EL. What is the evidence for a causal link between hygiene and infections? Lancet Infect Dis 2002;2:103-10.
  4. Dancer SJ. How do we assess hospital cleaning? A proposal for microbiological standards for surface hygiene in hospitals. J Hosp Infect 2004;56:10-5.

Gabriel Rodrigues

Associate Professor and Consultant Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India

Sohil Ahmed Khan

Lecturer and Clinical Pharmacist, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal, India

Ronan J. Murray

Consultant infectious diseases physician and Clinical microbiologist, Royal Perth Hospital, Perth