Four pediatric deaths from community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — Minnesota and North Dakota, 1997-1999

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999 Aug 20;48(32):707-10.

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an emerging community-acquired pathogen among patients without established risk factors for MRSA infection (e.g., recent hospitalization, recent surgery, residence in a long-term-care facility [LTCF], or injecting-drug use [IDU]) (1). Since 1996, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Indian Health Service (IHS) have investigated cases of community-acquired MRSA infection in patients without established risk factors. This report describes four fatal cases among children with community-acquired MRSA; the MRSA strains isolated from these patients appear to be different from typical nosocomial MRSA strains in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) characteristics.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Child
  • Community-Acquired Infections
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / genetics
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Penicillin-Binding Proteins
  • Risk Factors
  • Staphylococcal Infections* / diagnosis
  • Staphylococcal Infections* / drug therapy
  • Staphylococcal Infections* / microbiology

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Penicillin-Binding Proteins
  • mecA protein, Staphylococcus aureus