Abstract
Romania is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the world. To obtain data on affiliation of MRSA to strains and clonal complexes and on the population of methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), clinical isolates from bloodstream infections, skin and soft tissue infections as well as from screening swabs were collected at hospitals in Ia?i, a city in the North-Eastern part of Romania. Isolates were characterised by microarray hybridisation. Nearly half of all isolates (47%), and about one third (34%) of bloodstream isolates were MRSA. The prevalence of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) was also high (31% among MRSA, 14% among MSSA). The most common MRSA strain was a PVL-negative CC1-MRSA-IV that might have emerged locally, as a related MSSA was also common. PVL-positive CC8-MRSA-IV (“USA300”) and PVL-negative ST239-like MRSA-III were also frequently found while other MRSA strains were only sporadically detected. Among MSSA, PVL-positive CC121 as well as PVL-negative CC1, CC22 and CC45 predominated. Although this study provides only a snapshot of S. aureus/MRSA epidemiology in Romania, it confirms the high burden of MRSA and PVL on Romanian healthcare settings.
Highlights
The healthcare systems in Eastern European countries in general, and Romania in particular, have been significantly affected by the political changes in the 1990s, de-centralisation, transition to market-orientated economies, as well as various political and economic crises [1,2,3,4].With the public attention being focused mainly on HIV and tuberculosis, there are only few data available on other issues such as, e.g., antibiotic resistance in various pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus
A high prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was noted with roughly one-third of bloodstream isolates being MRSA
This is in accordance with previous studies from Romania
Summary
With the public attention being focused mainly on HIV and tuberculosis, there are only few data available on other issues such as, e.g., antibiotic resistance in various pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus. While there is an abundance of epidemiological and typing data from Western Europe, the United States and Australia, relatively few data are available for other parts of the world. This is true for Eastern Europe including Romania. According to the ECDC antimicrobial resistance surveillance (formerly EARSS), the MRSA rate among invasive infections was ‘‘equal to or above 25%’’ in 2008 and slightly above 50% in 2011/2012 [9]; [http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/ publications/antimicrobial-resistance-surveillance-europe-2011. PVL-positive S. aureus/MRSA have occasionally been described from Romania [8,10,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
