AGAR community and hospital Staphylococcus aureus surveillance

Abstract

Point-prevalence antimicrobial surveillance programmes conducted by the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) from 1986-1999 included consecutive clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus regardless of acquisition. Following a reported increase in community-acquired infections caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in the literature, AGAR performed the first survey of infections from outpatients, emergency department and general practitioner patients in 2000. Further community surveys were conducted in 2002, 2004 and 2006. In 2005 AGAR performed the first hospital-acquired infections survey (infections acquired more than 48 hours post admission) in part to track community MRSA clones emerging in the hospital setting. This article discusses the focus and main outcomes of the AGAR hospital and community surveys.