http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/11721/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/6978/ 1992-11-01T00:00:00Z The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients who become carriers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during their stay in hospital, remain colonized after discharge. Thirty-six patients colonized with MRSA during one of three outbreaks at Utrecht University Hospital (1986-89) were screened 2 or 3 years after they had become carriers. Patients were also interviewed to determine factors contributing to persistent carriage, such as antibiotics, re-admissions to the hospital, presence of skin lesions and chronic diseases. At the same time transmission of MRSA to family members was determined. The epidemic MRSA strain was still found in three patients (8%). One was a cystic fibrosis patient who had had frequent re-admissions to the hospital and had received several course of antibiotic treatment. Both of the other patients had skin lesions: a fistula and a colostomy respectively. None of the 44 family members of the patients was colonized or infected with MRSA. We conclude that long-term MRSA carriage occurs with low frequency and is comparable to persistent carriage of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Transmission of MRSA to healthy individuals in an antibiotic-free environment is a rare event. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12464/ 1981-07-01T00:00:00Z An enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to detect antibodies to the cell wall peptidoglycan of Staphylococcus aureus in human sera. All 170 sera from donors and patients with staphylococcal and nonstaphilococcal infections contained IgG antibodies to peptidoglycan; antobody levels varied with age, and transplacental transfer occurred. IgM antibodies to peptidoglycan were not found in donors and were present in only one patient with serious staphylococcal infection. Significantly elevated levels of IgG antibodies to peptidoglycan were observed in 20 (80%) of 25 patients with deep tissue infection with S. aureus but in only two (9%) of 22 patients with superficial staphylococcal infection. An increase in levels of antibodies to peptidoglycan generally coincided with an increase in level of IgG antibodies to teichoic acid. No cross-reactivity between peptidoglycan and teichoic acid was observed. Thus, staphylococcal peptidoglycan is immunogenic in humans, and testing for IgG antibodies to peptidoglycan may be useful in the diagnosis and follow-up of serious staphylococcal infections.