Despite nationally declining rates of healthcare-associated invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, incidence of the infection in children remained unchanged between 2005 and 2010, according to a new study published in Pediatrics.
Researchers examined annual incidence of hospital-onset, healthcare-associated community-onset and community-associated cases of pediatric MRSA. They did not observe any change in healthcare-associated infection levels over the period of the study; however, they did observe an increase in pediatric community-associated MRSA infections.
The study notes that invasive pediatric MRSA is found significantly more often in young infants and black children.
In light of the declining incidence of MRSA in other settings for other demographics, researchers suggest it would be worthwhile to develop more comprehensive strategies for MRSA prevention in children.
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