The Project

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the cause of the most hospital-acquired infections worldwide. Thereby infections are particularly susceptible to being caused by Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), for which there are only few, if any, possibilities of antibiotic therapy. It has been clearly demonstrated by various authors that Methicillin resistance is directly associated with increased mortality and morbidity with S. aureus infections. In the last 10 years an increase in the MRSA rate from 2% to approx. 25% was observed in Germany. In the Netherlands and Scandinavia a stable rate under 3% has been recorded for years. Particularly, for the Netherlands, adhering to a consequent "search and destroy" policy, MRSA felt off to very low rates and is now under control. In the Netherlands the main focus will be on isolating and controlling CA-MRSA, that are a possible danger for the open population outside hospitals. The main aim of the project is the creation of a network of the major health care providers in the region and the achieving of a lower MRSA rate, a reduction of the number of MRSA infections and thus a shorter stay in hospital as a result. A basic requirement for this is the active education of the region's population by the EUREGIO network. A transborder quality group from hospitals, public health authorities and laboratories is therefore planned over the course of three years. The network aims to consolidate those already locally established resources (e.g. laboratories, hygiene specialists, etc.) and will be coordinated by the two headquarters, Münster and Enschede, in order to organise the containment of MRSA more effectively.