Illicit drug users, alcoholics, and psychiatric patients: Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization on the border between community and healthcare settings

To the Editor—Even though methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization and infections have been extensively reported among users who inject illicit drugs,1,2 studies addressing other illicit drug users (IDUs),3 alcoholics and psychiatric patients are scarce.4 Those latter groups are of special concern when admitted to acute-care or long-term care facilities. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected from patients upon admission, except for those in long-term care, who had their swabs collected during their hospital stay, which often lasted years. [...]overall S. aureus colonization was similar to that in the general population, but we found relevant rates of MRSA carriage among the study groups.