Impact of the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System on the development of a national programme to monitor resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae in Ireland, 1999–2003

Abstract

Presented here is the 5-year impact of a national antimicrobial resistance surveillance system in Ireland, which was introduced in accordance with the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS). Participation in EARSS began in Ireland in 1999. Initially, 12 laboratories serving a mix of general and tertiary hospitals participated, but by 2003, participation had increased to 28 laboratories with a population coverage of 89%. During 1999-2003, 4,146 episodes of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia were reported, and methicillin resistance was detected in 1,709 (41.2%) of these isolates. Over the same period, 1,245 invasive (blood or cerebrospinal fluid) episodes of Streptococcus pneumoniae infection were reported, and 160 (12.9%) isolates were found to be non-susceptible to penicillin, with 23 (1.8%) demonstrating high-level penicillin resistance. By 2003, most Irish hospitals were participating in EARSS, which has been a catalyst for the development of a national antimicrobial resistance surveillance programme.

Evaluation of the Xpert Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Assay Using the GeneXpert Real-Time PCR Platform for Rapid Detection of MRSA from Screening Specimens

“…Ireland has a serious problem with MRSA, and the proportion of MRSA among S. aureus blood culture isolates is among the highest in Europe (11). It has been reported that in areas where MRSA is endemic, the introduction of a full "searchand-destroy" approach, including screening of all patient contacts of all index cases and the institution of precautionary isolation for all such contacts, could reduce the prevalence of MRSA to Ͻ1% within 6 years (1).…”

The Emergence and Importation of Diverse Genotypes of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Harboring the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Gene ( pvl ) Reveal that pvl Is a Poor Marker for Community-Acquired MRSA Strains in Ireland

“…MRSA isolates investigated for the presence of pvl genes were recovered from patients in the following hospitals: any of the 28 Irish hospitals from geographically diverse areas that participated in the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) during 2003 and reported patients with MRSA-positive blood cultures (n ϭ 18) (this level of participation provided an estimated population coverage of 89%; the 28 hospitals consisted of 7 tertiary referral university teaching hospitals, 2 regional hospitals, 12 general hospitals, 2 private hospitals, 2 maternity hospitals, 2 pediatric hospitals, and 1 long-stay care hospital) (27,40); 1 maternity hospital (with 188 beds); 2 pediatric university teaching hospitals (1 with 236 and 1 with 150 beds); and 1 tertiary referral adult university teaching hospital (with 936 beds).…”

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in resource‐constrained settings – experience from five pilot projects

“…2007). These and other such systems have been able to document trends over time and also stimulate helpful action at local, national and regional level (Murphy et al. 2005; Bartoloni et al.…”