[Incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Kosovar-Albanian refugees at the refugee-center in Randers].

INTRODUCTION: With the emergence of the war in Kosova, Europe faced a massive problem dealing with the refugees. The Danish quota was 3,000 refugees. Their health care was organised by the Danish Red Cross in collaboration with the District Hospital of Randers (DHR), the University Hospital of Arhus, and the Psychiatry Unit of the County of Arhus. The aim of the present retrospective study was to describe the prevalence of MRSA in this group of refugees. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nasal screening culture for MRSA was performed on the first 50 refugees arriving at Randers. On admission to the DHR, the Kosovar-Albanian refugees were isolated until the MRSA culture showed negative. RESULTS: MRSA causing serious nosocomial infections has become a major problem in hospitals worldwide, with a higher incidence in the southern part of Europe than in Denmark. The initial nasal screening revealed no MRSA positive cultures. During the course of the subsequent 14 months, we found eight Kosovar-Albanian refugees infected with/colonised by MRSA (Table 1). We observed no spread of MRSA to other patient groups. CONCLUSION: We conclude that 1) the results of the initial screening of 50 refugees did not predict the succeding high incidence of MRSA; 2) the usual treatment with mupirocin nasal ointment and chlorhexidine wash did not prevent either reinfection or spread of MRSA in the refugee centre; 3) the rigorous isolation and screening strategy at DHR prevented the spread of MRSA to other patients and staff.