Author
H. Claus
Bio: H. Claus is an academic researcher from Robert Koch Institute. The author has contributed to research in topics: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus & Typing. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 37 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: Isolates with heterogenous and homogeneous phenotypes, fell into clearly distinct clusters and thus formed two clonally related MRSA strains, and differences were seen with phage and biochemical typing, and antimicrobial resistance patterns.
37 citations
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TL;DR: On the basis of evidence from countries where MRSA is not a problem, it has been suggested that early detection, effective infection control measures, and rational antibiotic use will limit the transmission of these organisms; however, spread is still increasing in many countries.
Abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was initially detected in Europe in the 1960s, soon after the introduction of methicillin. Naturally-resistant strains were isolated in some countries before the use of methicillin or related agents. These strains probably spread initially from one or more ancestral genetic clones in natural populations of S. aureus by horizontal transfer and recombination. These original strains, possibly emerging in many countries, then increased in numbers and diversity in hospitals as a result of selection by exposure to antibiotics and by cross-infection. After a decline in the 1970s, new epidemic strains that differed from the original MRSAs emerged in Australia, the United States, and the Irish Republic and have now reached global proportions. Most strains are highly resistant to antibiotics and some are only sensitive to vancomycin or teicoplanin. Intercountry and intercontinental spread has also occurred by transfer of infected or colonized patients or staff. However, the main mode of spread is person-to-person within a unit or hospital and subsequently to other hospitals in the same country. New epidemic strains have continued to emerge and decline for unknown reasons. On the basis of evidence from countries where MRSA is not a problem, it has been suggested that early detection, effective infection control measures, and rational antibiotic use will limit the transmission of these organisms; however, spread is still increasing in many countries.
383 citations
TL;DR: Results demonstrate ICMS with appropriate media selection is a rapid and reproducible technique for identification and discrimination of MRSA.
174 citations
TL;DR: The majority of phenotypic and genotypic techniques developed for MRSA are not sufficiently discriminatory, reproducible, stable or useful in an outbreak to be acceptable.
106 citations
TL;DR: Staphylococcus aureus is recognized as one of the major causes of infections in humans occurring in both the community and the hospital, and the facility to spread also outside hospitals and to cause outbreaks requires efficacious infection control measures.
Abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is recognized as one of the major causes of infections in humans occurring in both the community and the hospital. Up to now one of the most serious aspects as far as treatment of S. aureus infections is concerned is resistance to methicillin, which in clinical terms indicates resistance to all beta-lactam antibiotics. The growing incidence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections worldwide, their multidrug resistance, several reservoirs of resistant strains, the facility to spread also outside hospitals and to cause outbreaks requires efficacious infection control measures. For this reason microbiological and epidemiological studies are of crucial importance.
65 citations
TL;DR: The existence of two main clusters of MRSA in Poland is confirmed by a study of 158 methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus clinical isolates obtained from 1990 to 1996 in 18 different hospitals in Poland.
Abstract: We report on a study of 158 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clinical isolates obtained from 1990 to 1996 in 18 different hospitals in Poland. All isolates were recovered from infection and carriage sites of patients, carriage sites of health care personnel, and hospital environment samples. Fifty-seven MRSA strains described here were studied previously and these were divided into two different clusters according to the degree of heterogeneity of methicillin resistance expression. The aim of this study was to extend the correlation between the two clusters and identify the clonal identities among all isolates by a combination of different methodologies: (i) analysis of mecA polymorphs and Tn554 insertion patterns and (ii) determination of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of chromosomal SmaI digests. Ninety-seven of 158 strains showed a heterogeneous expression of resistance to methicillin. Among these, 75 (77.3%) were ClaI-mecA type I, ClaI-Tn554 type NH (NH, no homology with transposon Tn554), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern A (I::NH::A); 10 isolates were III::B::M (10.3%); and the remaining clones included a few or single isolates. The isolates with homogeneous expression of resistance to methicillin (n = 61) were predominantly ClaI-mecA type III (49 of 61 [80.3%]) but had great variability in their ClaI-Tn554 and PFGE patterns. This study confirmed the existence of two main clusters of MRSA in Poland.
63 citations