Witte W, Braulke Ch, Heuck D (2000): MRSA-Situation in Deutschland. [MRSA-situation in Germany]
Hyg. Med. 25 (9): 347-354.

The increase in prevalence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in Germany (up to 15.2 % in 1998) is obviously due to interhospital dissemination of epidemic virulent strains which are identified by genomic typing. The frequencies of infections with MRSA in the community are obviously still low as are colonisation rates of inhabitants of nursing homes. During the past 5 years MRSA sensitive to oxytetracycline, to erythromycin and to gentamicin have become more frequent. The share of epidemic MRSA clones which had been disseminated in the past and exhibit broad resistance phenotypes has decreased (1994: 78.5 %, 1998: 58.6 %) whereas the frequency of recently emerging MRSA has increased (1994: 11.5 %, 1998: 36,7 %). The changing pattern of resistance phenotypes of MRSA from nosocomial infections in Germany is mainly due to the emergence and spread of recently evolving epidemic strains with more narrower resistance phenotypes and are only partly due to a loss of resistance genes by previously disseminated multiresistant epidemic strains. The observed changes can not simply be attributed to overall antibiotic consumption. Glycopeptide-intermediate resistant S. aureus have only be recorded in 5 hospitals in 1998, 4 of which were located in the same city.