Children at greater risk of MRSA infection: report

Children in hospital are at a greater risk of succumbing to MRSA infection now than at any time in the past decade, according to a paper published in this week’s Archives of Disease in Childhood.

The research, carried out by the Health Protection Agency and St George’s Hospital, London, found that MRSA bacteraemia in children under the age of 15-years-old has increased steadily since 1990 in England and Wales.

The study looked at voluntary laboratory reports taken between 1990 and 2001, and found that the number of blood-stream infections in children due to methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has risen from 4 (0.9%) in 1990 to 77 (13.1%) in 2000.

Children who succumb to MRSA infections are usually very sick and vulnerable to infection – so it is often difficult to tell where the infection was acquired.

Dr Georgia Duckworth, an MRSA expert at the Agency, said: "The levels of MRSA infection in children are still very low relative to older age groups, but we must take steps to ensure that MRSA infection in children does not increase to the same levels as adults."

She added: "MRSA infections in children are of concern to the patients, their families and hospital staff caring for them, and can often lead to a longer stay in hospital.

"Good infection control procedures in hospital wards can limit the spread of MRSA and other infections. Our study also recommends a review to identify the risk factors for catching MRSA in neonatal and paediatric units."

Of all the 376 reports of MRSA bacteraemia in children reviewed in the study, 53% were in infants under the age of 12 months with a significant increase in the proportion of Staphylococcus aureus infections due to MRSA in infants from 1% in 1990 to 13% in 2001.

Increases in MRSA bacteraemia were also seen in children of older ages, the report found.

(gmcg)