Effective infection control procedures for community acquired MRSA in NICUs

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25870151
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Medical and hospital managemen; Pediatrics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: NUKUI YOKO 東京大学, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (20568232)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 新生児集中治療領域 / 耐性菌 / 感染対策

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The historical trends of increasing prevalence of MRSA in NICUs and the evolution of more MRSA strain types within the hospital and community settings suggest that clinical issues with this pathogen will continue in the future.
Our results showed that the prevalence of community acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is increasing in NICUs in Japan. CA-MRSA strains were frequently isolated from non-nasal colonization sites such as stool, which may contaminate the hospital environment. Our results also indicate that the CA-MRSA strains have a significantly lower prevalence of antiseptic-resistance genes and longer survival duration in the environment than hospital aquired MRSA strains. Therefore, to prevent CA-MRSA transmission in the NICU, disinfection is a vital infection control method, along with conventional hand hygiene and contact precaution procedures.

Free Research Field

感染制御