Multidrug-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, India, 2013-2015.

Abstract

To the Editor: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a versatile pathogen capable of causing a wide variety of human diseases. Increased frequency of S. aureus infections imposes a high and increasing burden on healthcare resources. In many countries, MRSA infections in hospitals are common. Data from the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance system suggest that, in the United States, incidence of nosocomial MRSA infections is steadily increasing and that these infections account for >60% of intensive care unit admissions (1,2). S. aureus has developed resistance to several antimicrobial drugs, including second- and third-line drugs. Only a few drugs, such as vancomycin (a glycopeptide), daptomycin (a lipopeptide), and linezolid (an oxazolidinone), have been approved for the treatment of serious infections caused by MRSA. Another drug, tigecycline (a glycylcycline), has shown good activity against MRSA strains in vitro (3). The epidemiology of MRSA is constantly changing, which results in variation in its drug-resistance patterns throughout regions and countries (4). Therefore, to support clinicians in preventing and treating infection, epidemiologic surveillance is essential. We report resistance patterns of S. aureus collected over 2 years (December 2013–November 2015) from blood samples of patients admitted to 1 hospital in Odisha, eastern India.