What happened to phage type 80/81?
In the late 1950's an epidemic of hospital - associated Staphylococcus aureus infections occurred in many parts of the world. The problem was most acute in England and was the impetus for an extensive report by a sub-committee of the standing Medical Advisory committee of the Central Health Services Council entitled Staphylococcal Infections in Hospitals
The recommendations proffered to address the epidemic were reasoned and practical. They are extraordinarily similar to the many recommendations made of late to fight the current epidemic of MRSA. They make me realize that we have known for a long time how to limit the spread of infections. We just don't.
What goes around comes around
The recent explosion of so-called community-associated MRSA is associated with strains possessing a virulence factor referred to as Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL). While not well understood, PVL is associated with the ability to cause severe soft tissue infections.
Phage type 80/81 strains possessed PVL and recent modern genetic analysis of a community-acquired strain of MRSA prevalent in the South Pacific reveals that it is Phage type 80/81 that has acquired the gene that confers methicillin resistance. The exact organism responsible for large epidemics in the 1950s hospitals has evolved into a community-associated MRSA causing problems in the South Pacific in 2008. Do we really believe that identifying and decolonizing hospitalized individuals with MRSA is a practical solution to this problem?
Listeria
There are likely a large number of worried bologna eaters in Canada today. A serious outbreak of listeriosis has prompted a large recall of Maple Leaf Foods meat products.
Listeria monocytogenes is an uncommon but serious cause of food-borne illness that is particularly worrisome for immunocompromised people and expectant mothers. We see very few cases of this infection in Newfoundland (I can only remember 2 in the 14 years I have been overseeing the microbiology laboratory in St. John's). There have been no cases associated with this recent outbreak identified here.
Illness in pregnancy is very non-specific, usually "flu like" with fever. Any pregnant woman with a fever should be evaluated by their doctor and culture of blood undertaken. Listeriosis in pregnancy is diagnosed by finding the bacterium in blood. Antibiotic treatment is highly effective and prognosis for mother and baby is good.
