Abstract
© 2020 World Scientific Publishing Company. This study presents enhanced surveillance data from 2004 – 2018 for all community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) specimens collected in Western Australia (WA), and describes the changing epidemiology over this period. A total of 57,557 cases were reviewed. Annual incidence rates increased from 86.2 cases per 100,000 population to 245.6 per 100,000 population (IRR = 2.9, CI95 2.7 – 3.0). The proportion of isolates carrying Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL)-associated genes increased from 3.4% to 59.8% (χ2 test for trend 7021.9, p0.001). The emergence of PVL-positive, “Queensland CA-MRSA” (ST93- IV) and “WA 121” (ST5-IV) accounted for the majority of increases in CA-MRSA across the study period. It is unclear why some clones are more prolific in certain regions. In WA, CA-MRSA rates increase as indices of temperature and humidity increase after controlling for socioeconomic disadvantage. We suggest climatic conditions may contribute to transmission, along with other socio-behavioural factors. A better understanding of the ability for certain clones to form ecological niches and cause outbreaks is required.
Keywords
community outbreaks, emerging infections, methicillin resistant s. aureus, MRSA
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2020
ISSN
09502688
PubMed ID
32321605
Publication Title
Epidemiology and Infection
Publisher
Cambridge University
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences / Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research
RAS ID
34130
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Bloomfield, L. E., Coombs, G. W., Tempone, S., & Armstrong, P. K. (2020). Marked increase in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, Western Australia, 2004–2018. Epidemiology & Infection, 148, Article e153. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268820000849