There has been a lot of excitement about the prospects of whole genome sequencing (WGS) to support infection prevention and control in a really meaningful way over the past decade or two. But to me this potential seems largely unfulfilled. WGS remains largely the domain of reference and research laboratories, and has not transitioned effectively to support IPC daily decision making. A recent review highlights the potential of WGS to support IPC, and identifies some of the barriers to be overcome if WGS really is to be a big part of our future in IPC.
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Are CA-MRSA more virulent than HA-MRSA?
Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) are characterised by the ability to cause infections – and sometimes serious invasive infections – in previously healthy individuals without healthcare contact. We don’t see this clinical manifestation in healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), so it’s is logical to conclude that CA-MRSA are somehow more virulent than HA-MRSA. However, a recent study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology shows that CA-MRSA strains were no more virulent than HA-MRSA strains in a battery of laboratory tests. This suggests that CA-MRSA’s ability to cause infections in healthy individuals without healthcare contact has more to do with transmissibility than virulence. And this explains the curious phenomenon that CA-MRSA seem to cause the same spectrum of disease as HA-MRSA when they infiltrate a healthcare setting.
Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control 