Network (CDN) launched a research and learning collaborative project with six community health centers in the New York City metropolitan area to determine the nature (clonal type) of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus strains causing skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). Between November 2011 and March 2013, wound and nasal samples from 129 patients with active SSTIs suspicious for S. aureus were collected and characterized by molecular typing techniques. In 63 of 129 patients, the skin wounds were infected by S. aureus: methicillinresistant S. aureus (MRSA) was recovered from 39 wounds and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) was recovered from 24. Most-46 of the 63-wound isolates belonged to the CC8/Panton-Valentine leukocidin-positive (PVL ؉ ) group of S. aureus clone USA300: 34 of these strains were MRSA and 12 were MSSA. Of the 63 patients with S. aureus infections, 30 were also colonized by S. aureus in the nares: 16 of the colonizing isolates were MRSA, and 14 were MSSA, and the majority of the colonizing isolates belonged to the USA300 clonal group. In most cases (70%), the colonizing isolate belonged to the same clonal type as the strain involved with the infection. In three of the patients, the identity of invasive and colonizing MRSA isolates was further documented by whole-genome sequencing. Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of bacterial infections in humans worldwide (1), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the main cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in North America, with a single clone, USA300, accounting for 98% of these infections (2, 3).The first human case of MRSA infection in the United States was reported in Boston, MA, in 1968 (4). MRSA was first detected in hospitals, and over the following decades, it became the main nosocomial pathogen around the world (5). In 1998, the prevalence of MRSA in 12 hospitals throughout the city of New York was assessed (6), and a single MRSA clone was found to be responsible for an overwhelming majority of MRSA infections. The same MRSA clone was subsequently identified as dominant in MRSA infections in 29 hospitals in the tristate area (7), and it was also identified in MRSA infections in Japan (8). This MRSA clone (multilocus sequence typing [MLST] clonal complex CC5, sequence type ST5, SCCmecII, and unique pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE] profile)-also known as the "New York/Japan clone" or "MRSA clone USA100"-became the most prevalent MRSA clone involved in MRSA infections in hospitals in the United States in the 1990s (9).In 1993, a new MRSA clone emerged in Kimberley, Western Australia (10), in a community of patients without previous health care contact (community-acquired MRSA [CA-MRSA]). In the late 1990s, CA-MRSA also appeared in the United States and was responsible for the death of four otherwise healthy pediatric patients in Minnesota and North Dakota (11). These new CA-MRSA strains belonged to a clone (USA400/CC1/SCCmecIV)

Background Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (SSTIs) in the community in the United States of America. Community Health Centers (CHC) serve as primary care providers for thousands of immigrants in New York. Methods As part of a research collaborative, 6 New York City-area CHCs recruited patients with SSTIs. Characterization was performed in all S. aureus isolates from wounds and nasal swabs collected from patients. Statistical analysis examined the differences in wound and nasal cultures among immigrant compared to native-born patients. Results Wound and nasal specimens were recovered from 129 patients and tested for antibiotic susceptibility. 40 patients were immigrants from 15 different countries. Although not statistically significant, immigrants had lower rates of MRSA infections (n=15) than did native-born participants, and immigrants showed significantly higher rates of MSSA wound cultures (n=11) (OR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.3, 9.7). Conclusions In our study, immigrants were more likely to present with SSTIs caused by MSSA than US-born patients. This suggests that antibiotic resistance may vary regionally and that immigrants presenting with SSTIs may benefit from a broader range of antibiotics. Immigrants also reported lower frequencies of antibiotic prescription or consumption in the months prior to SSTI infection.

Background There is a presumption that, for patients with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP), early follow-up, that is, within 4 weeks of an elevated reading, improves BP control. However, data are lacking regarding effective interventions for increasing clinician frequency of follow-up visits and whether such interventions improve BP control. Methods/design Blood Pressure Visit Intensification Study in Treatment involves a multimodal approach to improving intensity of follow-up in 12 community health centers using a stepped wedge study design. Discussion The study will inform effective interventions for increasing frequency of follow-up visits among patients with uncontrolled BP and determine whether increasing follow-up frequency is associated with better BP control.

The source of the USA300 strain remains unknown. The isolate may represent a persistent strain capable of surviving extensive antibiotic pressure or a persistent environmental reservoir may be the source, possibly in the patient's household, from which bacteria were repeatedly introduced into the skin flora with subsequent infections.

BACKGROUND Infectious diseases, such as Hepatitis C and Community-Acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), are emerging health issues. OBJECTIVES The CA-MRSA Project (CAMP1) extended its learning collaborative to the barbershop/hair salon settings to increase awareness and prevention of CA-MRSA and Hepatitis C infections. METHODS Education sessions on CA-MRSA and Hepatitis C were conducted with 43 estheticians at 9 barbershop/hair salons in New York City. All completed pre-post intervention knowledge tests. Low-cost primary care referral cards were also distributed in the CA-MRSA education project. RESULTS Knowledge about CA-MRSA risks (p<0.0003) and infection prevention measures (p<0.0001), as well as Hepatitis C knowledge and prevention (both p<0.0001) increased. Nine shops received referral cards (N=500) and 4% of the cards (n=19) were distributed to clients. No self-referrals were reported. CONCLUSIONS CAMP1 successfully recruited and trained a cadre of estheticians on CA-MRSA and Hepatitis C prevention increasing their health knowledge deepening our engagement with the community.