Recent news reports describe the latest strategies and developments adopted by the NHS and drug companies in the ongoing fight against methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
As these and other measures are considered, the Oxoid PBP2' test is able to enhance treatment and infection control efforts by allowing MRSA to be detected a day earlier than traditional antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST).
The recently launched 'matron's charter' puts senior nurses in charge of hospital hygiene.
UK health minister John Reid, announced that hygiene issues and hospital-acquired infections, such as MRSA, would be the top priority for England's new chief nursing officer, Chris Beasley.
In addition, drug companies continue to explore treatment options that will be effective against these resistant organisms.
One group in the UK are in the early stages of investigating a way to make MRSA strains vulnerable to the antibiotics it normally resists.
Early detection of methicillin resistance in S aureus isolates is extremely important if subsequent actions (such as isolation, infection control and directed therapy) are to be effective.
Requiring minimal labour and no expensive or complicated equipment, the Oxoid PBP2' test is said to be much quicker and easier to perform than genotypic tests, such as PCR, and yields clearly visible results within minutes - a day in advance of AST results.
