NEW GUIDELINES AVAILABLE TO ASSIST MEDICAL COMMUNITY
IN FIGHT AGAINST CA-MRSA

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY IN PDF FORMAT

September 13, 2006 Recognizing that the recent emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has the potential to inflict significant impact in Canada, an expert panel of Canadian Infectious Disease, Infection Prevention and Control, and Public Health Specialists has developed guidelines to assist Canadian Health Care Practitioners. With a dramatic increase in the rate of methicillin resistance among community isolates of Staphylococcus aureus recently observed in the United States, experts here in Canada are warning that only vigilance and determined prevention and control efforts will stem the emergence of infection due to this strain in Canadian communities. As articles in the Canadian Medical Association Journal have been highlighting over the past few months, these guidelines come at a very critical time.
 
The Guidelines (Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Community-associated Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureus(CA-MRSA): A Perspective for Canadian Health Care Practioners) will be published (in both english and french) in the September/October edition of the Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology (CJIDMM) and the October issue of Paediatrics and Child Health through funding made available by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance (CCAR), and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC). A final draft version is being distributed over the next month through numerous websites and association membership advisory notices.
 
In addition to conveying basic information about the epidemiology and microbiology of CA-MRSA, the Guidelines provide recommendations related to the clinical management, and prevention and control of CA-MRSA infections. The goal of this document is to assist frontline physicians in the treatment of CA-MRSA infections but also highlight the preventative measures that can be implemented in a variety of settings home, daycare centers and schools, sports settings, pet owners, prison and homeless shelters as well as neonatal care facilities, noted Dr. Michelle Barton-Forbes, who, along with Dr. Michael Hawkes, co-authored the report in conjuction with experts from across Canada and the U.S. We are very pleased with the results of such a collaborative effort and we would like to thank all those who contributed. We feel the Guidelines will have a very positive impact in fighting CA-MRSA.
 
The Guidelines are the result of a year-long process, including a Working Group Meeting in October, 2005 in Toronto, Ontario, where 70 Canadian experts that included representatives from paediatric and adult infectious disease, infection prevention and control, microbiology and public health, as well as invited US experts in CA-MRSA from Texas and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. The PHAC, CCAR and MOHLTC coordinated and supported the process of development and distribution of the Guidelines.
 
In addition, the Guidelines were approved for publication by the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease of Canada (AMMI Canada), the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) and Community and Hospital Infection Control Association-Canada (CHICA-Canada). The Guidelines will be reviewed annually by the CA-MRSA expert panel to ensure they are kept up to date.

A copy of the Guidelines can be obtained through CJIDMM (September/October, 2006 issue) as well as Paediatrics and Child Health (October, 2006 issue) or via numerous websites, including: www.ccar-ccra.org, www.ammi.ca, www.cmaj.ca, and www.chica.org. Reprints can be requested through CCAR () after the publication date.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY IN PDF FORMAT

For additional information, please contact:

Upton D. Allen, Professor of Pediatrics
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto
Tel:

or:
Lindsay Nicolle
Chair, Steering Committee on Infection Control
Health Sciences Centre
Tel:

or:
John Conly
Professor of Medicine, Foothills Hospital