An effective active surveillance method for controlling nosocomial MRSA transmission in a Japanese hospital

Hospital-wide active surveillance for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) targeted to adult patients with a history of MRSA carriage within the past 5 years was performed in Juntendo University Hospital (JUH) over a 2-year period. In the first year, MRSA screening culture was ordered by physicians in charge. In the second year, infection-control practitioners (ICPs) took samples for active surveillance culture. The average monthly transmission rate of MRSA in JUH was 0.35 per 1,000 bed-days in the first year and decreased significantly to 0.26 per 1,000 bed-days in the second year (P < 0.05). In the second year, more active commitment of ICPs to MRSA screening was effective in improving the performance rate of screening, shortening turn-around time of screening results, and decreasing transmission rate. Increasing compliance with active MRSA surveillance by involvement of ICPs, targeting patients with a previous history of MRSA carriage in the previous 5 years, was effective to control nosocomial MRSA transmission.