Topical Antibiotic Use Coselects for the Carriage of Mobile Genetic Elements Conferring Resistance to Unrelated Antimicrobials in Staphylococcus aureus

Glen P Carter; Mark B Schultz; Sarah L Baines; Anders Goncalves da Silva; Helen Heffernan; Audrey Tiong; Peter H Pham; Ian R Monk; Timothy P Stinear; Benjamin P Howden; Deborah A Williamson

Journal article

Topical Antibiotic Use Coselects for the Carriage of Mobile Genetic Elements Conferring Resistance to Unrelated Antimicrobials in Staphylococcus aureus

Glen P Carter, Mark B Schultz, Sarah L Baines, Anders Goncalves da Silva, Helen Heffernan, Audrey Tiong, Peter H Pham, Ian R Monk, Timothy P Stinear, Benjamin P Howden, Deborah A Williamson

ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY | AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY | Published : 2018

DOI: 10.1128/AAC.02000-17

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Abstract

Topical antibiotics, such as mupirocin and fusidic acid, are commonly used in the prevention and treatment of skin infections, particularly those caused by staphylococci. However, the widespread use of these agents is associated with increased resistance to these agents, potentially limiting their efficacy. Of particular concern is the observation that resistance to topical antibiotics is often associated with multidrug resistance, suggesting that topical antibiotics may play a role in the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. New Zealand (NZ) has some of the highest globally recorded rates of topical antibiotic usage and resistance. Using a combination of Pacific Biosciences singl..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Ian Monk Author Microbiology and Immunology

Ben Howden Author Microbiology and Immunology

Sarah Baines Author Microbiology and Immunology

Anders Goncalves Da Silva Author Microbiology and Immunology

Glen Carter Author Microbiology and Immunology

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Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia

Funding Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a Marsden grant from the Royal Society of New Zealand. The National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia, funded Practitioner Fellowship GNT1105905 to B.P.H. and Early Career Fellowship GNT1123854 to D.A.W. The Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory is funded by the Victorian Government. Doherty Applied Microbial Genomics is funded by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of Melbourne.