Volume 10, Number 9—September 2004
Research
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Europe, 1999–2002
, Stef L.A.M. Bronzwaer†, Outi Lyytikäinen†, John E. Degener‡, Paul Schrijnemakers*, Nienke Bruinsma*, Jos Monen*, Wolfgang Witte§, Hajo Grundmann*, and European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Participants
Table 1
Characteristics of EARSS database by countriesa,b
| Country (EARSS country code) | No. of hospitalsc | Total no. of isolates | No. of MRSA isolates (%) | Period of participation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria (AT) | 11 | 656 | 58 (8.8) | Jan 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Belgium (BE) | 36 | 2,953 | 696 (23.6) | Jul 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Bulgaria (BG) | 4 | 183 | 62 (33.9) | Jan 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Croatia (HR) | 6 | 341 | 125 (36.7) | Jul 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Czech Republic (CZ) | 35 | 2,426 | 142 (5.9) | Apr 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Denmark (DK) | 22 | 2,406 | 14 (0.6) | Jan 1999–Sept 2002 |
| Estonia (EE) | 3 | 112 | 1 (0.9) | Jan 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Finland (FI) | 17 | 1,990 | 19 (1.0) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| France (FR) | 24 | 3,376 | 1,117 (33.1) | Jan 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Germany (DE) | 25 | 3,757 | 600 (13.8) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Greece (GR) | 19 | 1,126 | 500 (44.4) | Jan 1999–Dec 2001; Jul 2002–Dec 2002 |
| Hungary (HU) | 12 | 435 | 31 (7.1) | Jan 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Iceland (IS) | 1 | 184 | 1 (0.5) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Ireland (IE) | 19 | 2,897 | 1,192 (41.2) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Israel (IL) | 5 | 849 | 326 (38.4) | Jan 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Italy (IT) | 57 | 3,593 | 1,470 (40.9) | Jan 1999–Jun 2000; Apr 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Luxemburg (LU) | 4 | 214 | 41 (19.2) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Malta (MT) | 1 | 240 | 105 (43.8) | Jan 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Netherlands (NL) | 45 | 5,359 | 30 (0.6) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Poland (PL) | 8 | 238 | 42 (17.7) | Jan 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Portugal (PT) | 15 | 1,540 | 535 (34.7) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| Slovakia (SK) | 7 | 228 | 24 (10.5) | Jul 2001–Dec 2002 |
| Slovenia (SI) | 8 | 657 | 121 (18.4) | Jul 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Spain (ES) | 35 | 2,985 | 739 (24.8) | Jan 2000–Dec 2002 |
| Sweden (SE) | 54 | 6,071 | 48 (0.8) | Jan 1999–Dec 2002 |
| United Kingdom (UK) | 27 | 5,343 | 2,217 (41.5) | Jan 1999–Sept 2002 |
| Total | 500 | 50,759 | 10,256 (20.2) |
aEARSS, European Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance System; MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
bOnly hospitals providing data of >20 isolates are included.
cAccording to EARSS hospital codes provided by the countries.
1European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System national representatives, 2002: Austria: H. Mittermayer, W. Koller; Belgium: H. Goossens, E. Hendrickx; Bulgaria: B. Markova; Croatia: S. Kalenic, A. Tambic-Andrasavic; Czech Republic: P. Urbaskova; Denmark: D. Monnet; Estonia: P. Naaber; Finland: O. Lyytikäinen, A. Nissinen; France: H. Aubry-Damon, P. Courvalin; Germany: U. Buchholz, W. Witte; Greece: N. Legakis, G. Vatopoulos; Hungary: M. Füzi; Ireland: D. O’Flanagan, O. Murphy; Iceland: K. Kristinsson; Israel: R. Raz; Italy: G. Cornaglia, P. D’Ancona; Luxembourg: R. Hemmer; Malta: M. Borg; Netherlands: A. de Neeling, E. Tiemersma; Norway: A. Hoiby, E. Bjørløw; Poland: W. Hryniewicz; Portugal: M. Caniça; Romania: I. Codita; Slovenia: M. Gubina, J. Kolman; Slovakia: L. Langsadl; Spain: F. Baquero, J. Campos; Sweden: B. Liljequist; United Kingdom: A. Johnson, M. Whale.