Genetic background and impact of Staphylococcus aureus in a cross-border region

MRSA (the hospital bacteria) occurs more in Belgian and German hospitals in the Euregion Meuse-Rhine than in Dutch hospitals. The ‘Search & Destroy’ policy of the Dutch government has – in spite of the high cost – realized containment of the MRSA contaminations in hospitals. Via genetic research this dissertation shows that several MSRA variants have dispersed to the Dutch patient population. Because there are many cross-border movements by patients between hospitals, and new ‘variants’ of the MRSA bacteria occur, the MRSA containment policy between the hospitals in the Euregion Meuse-Rhine should be matched to prevent transfer of MRSA between patients.