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. 2015 May;143(7):1519-23.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268814002611. Epub 2014 Oct 10.

Progressive increase in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Indigenous populations in northern Australia from 1993 to 2012

S Y C Tong  1 , L Varrone  1 , M D Chatfield  1 , M Beaman  2 , P M Giffard  1
Affiliations

Progressive increase in community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Indigenous populations in northern Australia from 1993 to 2012

S Y C Tong et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2015 May.

Abstract

Hospital-based studies have determined high rates of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Indigenous populations. However, there is a paucity of community-based data. We obtained 20 years (1993-2012) of data on S. aureus isolates (N = 20 210) collected from community clinics that provide services for Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, Australia. Methicillin resistance increased from 7% to 24%, resistance to macrolides remained stable at ~25%, and there was a slight increase in resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. The increase in methicillin resistance is concerning for the Indigenous communities represented by this data, but it is also of significance if virulent MRSA clones emerge and spread more widely from such settings.

Keywords: trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Rates (%) of resistance to methicillin over the period 1993–2012. The size of the circles reflects the total number of isolates for each year. The modelled line is from a random-effects logistic regression model taking into account community of origin, year of isolation (cubic), age (quadratic) and sex.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Rates (%) of resistance to (a) erythromycin, (b) trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (SXT) and (c) doxycycline over the period 1993–2012 for all Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The size of the circles reflects the total number of isolates for each year. The modelled lines are from random-effects logistic regression models taking into account community of origin, year of isolation (cubic), age (quadratic) and sex.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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