Is living in a border region a risk for a high prevalence of resistance?

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases Vol. 32; no. 8; pp. 989 - 995
• Main Authors: van der Donk, C. F. M., Rijnders, M. I. A., Donker, G. A., de Neeling, A. J., Nys, S., Stobberingh, E. E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotics; Antimicrobial agents; Belgium - epidemiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Carrier State - epidemiology; Carrier State - microbiology; Chi-Square Distribution; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; General Practice; Germany - epidemiology; Humans; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Medical Microbiology; Medical sciences; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Nasal Cavity - microbiology; Netherlands - epidemiology; Nosocomial infections; Nursing Homes; Prevalence; Provinces; Public health; Staphylococcal Infections - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Staphylococcus infections; Belgium; Netherlands; Germany; Linezolid; Mupirocin; Nursing Home; Nursing Home Resident; Nasal Swab; Infection; Resistance; Prevalence; Microbiology; Epidemiology; Risk factor
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-013-1835-7

This study assessed the antimicrobial resistance and population structure of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from general practice (GP) patients and nursing home (NH) residents in the province of Limburg (near the border with Germany and Belgium) in comparison with those obtained in the remaining provinces of the Netherlands. A total of 617 and 418 S. aureus isolates were isolated from 2,691 to 1,351 nasal swabs from GP patients and NH residents, respectively. Quantitative antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using a microbroth dilution method. Putative methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates were tested for the presence of the mecA gene and spa typing was performed on all S. aureus isolates. No significant differences in the prevalence of resistance were found between the two groups of GP isolates, but the isolates from the NH residents showed a lower resistance for trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole ( p = 0.003) in Limburg province compared with the remaining provinces in the Netherlands. Among the isolates from NH residents in Limburg province, the prevalence of spa -CC 084 was higher ( p = 0.003) and that of spa -CC 002 was lower ( p = 0.01) compared with isolates from NHs in the remaining provinces of the Netherlands. We observed no differences in resistance and population structure between S. aureus isolates from GP patients in Limburg and the remaining provinces of the Netherlands, and only a few differences were observed between the NH populations. There was no higher prevalence of resistance among the GP and NH isolates from Limburg compared with the remaining provinces.