Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital employees:: Prevalence, duration, and transmission to households

ORJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and duration of where (9.0% vs 2.1%; P <.0001). Identity of isolates from employmethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage ees and patients varied from 25% in medical wards to 100% in the among hospital employees and transmission to their households. long-term-care facility. MRSA carriage was identified in 14 DESIGN: A point-prevalence survey of MRSA carriage employees from 2 medical wards (prevalence, 19.4%; Cl 951 (nasal swabbing) of staff and patients throughout the hospital; a 10.3%-28.5%). Prevalence depended on the length of service in prevalence survey of MRSA carriage in 2 medical wards, with these wards. Transmission to households was investigated in 10 carriers observed to estimate carriage duration; and evaluation of MRSA-positive workers' families and was found in 4. All isolates transmission to MRSA-positive workers' families. All MRSA iso- from each family were identical. lates were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. During CONCLUSIONS: Few data are available concerning the the study, no MRSA outbreak was detected among hospitalized prevalence of MRSA carriers among hospital employees in the patients. absence of an outbreak among patients. MRSA transmission SETTING: A 600-bed, public tertiary-care teaching hospi- between patients and employees likely depends on the frequency tal near Paris. and duration of exposure to MRSA-positive patients and infection RESULTS: Sixty MRSA carriers were identified among control measures employed. Frequent transmission of MRSA 965 healthcare providers (prevalence, 6.2%; Cl-95, 4*7%-7.7%). from colonized healthcare workers to their households was documented.