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Researchers report that HIV-infected
adults are more likely to have methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) infections if the patients have a history of MRSA colonization in the
groin or they have had a prior MRSA infection acquired from the community or a
health care setting. MRSA colonization is more prevalent among HIV-infected
people than among the general U.S. population.
To determine the MRSA risk related
to colonization, researchers recruited 600 patients from the Atlanta VA Medical
Center. The participants provided a baseline specimen from the anterior nares
and groin and supplied two additional specimens at subsequent clinic visits
over the next two years. The study aimed to identify participants with MRSA
colonization in the nares and the groin and to diagnose MRSA infections.
Initial specimens revealed MRSA
colonization in 79 study participants (41 percent in the nares only, 21 percent
in the groin only, and 38 percent in both the nares and groin). At the
six-month mark, 66 participants had MRSA colonizations; at the twelve-month
mark, 62 participants had MRSA colonizations.
During two years of follow-up, 25
study participants developed 29 MRSA infections. Twelve of those who developed
MRSA infections during the study had MRSA colonization in the groin only or in
the groin and nares at the baseline measurement. The most common MRSA
infections during the study were skin, tissue, pneumonia, and bacteremia, and
tests found the clinical isolate USA300 in 64 percent of the MRSA infections.
Study authors recommended improved
“hygienic practices and decolonization treatment” to eliminate or reduce MRSA
colonization and to prevent MRSA infections among HIV-infected adults.
The full report,
“Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Colonization of the Groin and Risk
for Clinical Infection among HIV-infected Adults” was published online March
13, 2013, in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases at URL http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/4/12-1353_article.htm.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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