A new microbiological problem in intensive care units: environmental contamination by MRSA with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides.

The study evaluated the percentage of MRSA strains with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides in four intensive care units by environmental sampling of air and surfaces. Antibiograms revealed that 85.7% of all air samples were positive for MRSA, and that 64.3% of all the samples were heterogeneously resistant to glycopeptides. Methicillin resistance was recorded in 41.0% of surface samples, and 32.5% of all samples proved positive for hGISA. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 2007; 23 Jul.