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Is living in a border region a risk for a high prevalence of resistance?

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European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study assessed the antimicrobial resistance and population structure of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from general practice (GP) patients and nursing home (NH) residents in the province of Limburg (near the border with Germany and Belgium) in comparison with those obtained in the remaining provinces of the Netherlands. A total of 617 and 418 S. aureus isolates were isolated from 2,691 to 1,351 nasal swabs from GP patients and NH residents, respectively. Quantitative antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed using a microbroth dilution method. Putative methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolates were tested for the presence of the mecA gene and spa typing was performed on all S. aureus isolates. No significant differences in the prevalence of resistance were found between the two groups of GP isolates, but the isolates from the NH residents showed a lower resistance for trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (p = 0.003) in Limburg province compared with the remaining provinces in the Netherlands. Among the isolates from NH residents in Limburg province, the prevalence of spa-CC 084 was higher (p = 0.003) and that of spa-CC 002 was lower (p = 0.01) compared with isolates from NHs in the remaining provinces of the Netherlands. We observed no differences in resistance and population structure between S. aureus isolates from GP patients in Limburg and the remaining provinces of the Netherlands, and only a few differences were observed between the NH populations. There was no higher prevalence of resistance among the GP and NH isolates from Limburg compared with the remaining provinces.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the participants for their help, and the general practitioners and the nursing home staff for their assistance with the collection of the samples.

Funding

This project was financially supported, in part, by the Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy (SWAB) and, in part, by Provincie Limburg, the Netherlands; Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie, Bauen, Wohnen und Verkehr des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft Belgiens, Belgium; Provincie Limburg, Belgium; Wallonie, Belgium; Rheinland-Westfalen, Germany; Interreg and the Euregio Maas-Rijn with support of the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRO).

The funding institutions were not involved in any part of this study.

Competing interests

None to declare.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval for this project was granted by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Maastricht University Medical Centre, reference number: 07-4-012.4/pl.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    C. F. M. van der Donk, M. I. A. Rijnders, S. Nys & E. E. Stobberingh

  2. CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 50, 6229 ER, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    C. F. M. van der Donk & E. E. Stobberingh

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Atrium Medical Centre, Henri Dunantstraat 5, 6419 PC, Heerlen, The Netherlands

    M. I. A. Rijnders

  4. NIVEL, Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research, Otterstraat 118, 3513 CR, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    G. A. Donker

  5. Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9, 3721 MA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    A. J. de Neeling

  6. Department of Clinical Biology, Jessa Hospital, Stadsomvaart 11, 3500, Hasselt, Belgium

    S. Nys

  7. Department of Medical Microbiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    E. E. Stobberingh

Authors
  1. C. F. M. van der Donk
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  2. M. I. A. Rijnders
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  3. G. A. Donker
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  4. A. J. de Neeling
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  5. S. Nys
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  6. E. E. Stobberingh
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. E. Stobberingh.

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van der Donk, C.F.M., Rijnders, M.I.A., Donker, G.A. et al. Is living in a border region a risk for a high prevalence of resistance?. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 32, 989–995 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-013-1835-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-013-1835-7

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