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Semmelweis Prize 2008 awarded to research studies on MRSA
On the occasion of the 9th International Congress of the German Association of Hospital Hygiene (DGKH), which took place in the “Russisches Haus” in Berlin from the 20th to the 23rd of April 2008, the Ignaz-Philipp-Semmelweis-Research Prize was awarded for the fifth time. DGKH and BODE Chemie, Hamburg, jointly award this prize for innovative achievements in the area of hygiene and infection prevention.
The international science prize that carries 15,000 EURO in prize money was awarded to two German scientists in equal shares, who dealt with the number one problem among nosocomial germs – the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
MRSA in focus
Prof. Dr. med. Matthias Trautmann, Head of the Institute of Hospital Hygiene, Klinikum Stuttgart, and co-authors were rewarded for their paper ”Implementation of an intensified infection control program to reduce MRSA transmissions in a German tertiary care hospital”. This paper describes the implementation of a comprehensive hygiene program for reducing nosocomial MRSA rates at the Kataharinenhospital, Städtisches Klinikum Stuttgart, Germany.
The effectiveness of the program has been monitored and evaluated continuously. To facilitate this, the authors defined the transmission index – the ratio between brought-along and hospital-acquired MRSA cases.
Community-acquired MRSA
The „Management of a large healthcare-associated outbreak of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-positive Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Germany“ is the subject of the second paper for which Priv. Doz. Dr. med. Florian Martin Erich Wagenlehner, Clinic and Policlinic for Urology and Paediatric Urology, University Hospital Gießen and Marburg, Germany, and co-authors were rewarded.
The study deals with the largest Panton-Valentine Leukocidin-positive MRSA outbreak in Germany that affected both nursing homes and two clinics in East Bavaria in 2004.
The outbreak management comprised eradication of the MRSA carrier status by applying Mupirocin, repeated antiseptic washes, hygiene inspections and training, and intensification of hand hygiene.
A control study in 2005 showed that an extensive hygiene management confined the outbreak and reduced the rate of PVL-positive MRSA significantly – a complete eradication was not achieved. However, until the end of 2007, PVL-positive MRSA cases decreased continuously in East Bavaria.
In his honorific speech, Prof. Dr. Axel Kramer, President of the DGKH, emphasised the scientific quality and the practical relevance of the awarded papers. The jury decided on the basis of a ranking, which assesses level of innovation, methodology, evaluation of scientific literature, patient safety, and practicability.
(Status: May 2008)
Caption:
Semmelweis Prize 2008 awarded research on MRSA:
(f. l. t. r.) Dr. Barbara Krug, Head of Research and Development, BODE Chemie, Hamburg, laureate Dr. Priv. Doz. Dr. med. Florian Martin Erich Wagenlehner, Clinic and Policlinic for Urology and Paediatric Urology, University Hospital Gießen and Marburg, laureate Prof. Dr. med. Matthias Trautmann, Head of the Institute of Hospital Hygiene, Klinikum Stuttgart and the President of the DGKH, Prof. Dr. Axel Kramer, Greifswald.
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