Factors

Abstract

To determine frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections caused by strains typically associated with community-acquired infections (USA300) among persons with healthcare-related risk factors (HRFs), we evaluated surveillance data. Of patients with HRFs, 18%–28 % had a “community-associated” strain, primarily USA300; of patients without HRFs, 26% had a “healthcare-associated ” strain, typically USA100. In the United States, initial reports of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections among injection drug users in Detroit in 1981 were followed by reports of MRSA associated with the deaths of 4 children in Minnesota and North Dakota in 1997 (1). For the next few years, public health personnel in several states investigated outbreaks of MRSA infections of skin and soft tissue among diverse populations who typically had little or no previous contact with the healthcare system, such as Native Americans (2), sports teams (3), prison inmates (4)