Table 1. Description of study population (staff) and MRSA-positive cases (MRSA_staff) among health personnel.

		Staff	MRSAstaff
Variable		Ntotal = 759	NMRSA = 12	p-valueb
		n (%)	n (%)a
Sex	female	607 (80.0)	6 (1.0)
	male	140 (18.4)	6 (4.3)
	unknown	12 (1.6)	0 (0.0)	0.02
Age in years	< 30	164 (21.6)	4 (2.4)
	30–39	163 (21.5)	4 (2.5)
	40–49	178 (23.5)	0 (0.0)
	50–59	191 (25.2)	2 (1.0)
	> 60	53 (7.0)	2 (3.8)
	unknown	10 (1.3)	0 (0.0)	0.25
Time spent in geriatric care	< 1 year	79 (10.4)	1 (1.3)
	1–5 years	157 (20.7)	3 (1.9)
	6–10 years	147 (19.4)	3 (2.0)
	11–15 years	105 (13.8)	2 (1.9)
	> 15 years	143 (18.8)	2 (1.4)
	unknown	128 (16.9)	1 (0.8)	0.96
Level of training	geriatric nurse	241 (31.8)	6 (2.5)
	care assistant / auxiliary nurse	110 (14.5)	2 (1.8)
	general nurse	58 (7.6)	1 (1.7)
	trainee nurse	45 (5.9)	1 (2.2)
	without nursing qualification	78 (10.3)	1 (1.3)
	other / unknown	227 (29.9)	1 (0.4)	0.64
Current occupation	active care / nursing work	471 (62.1)	10 (2.1)
	physio- / occupational therapist	48 (6.3)	0 (0.0)
	social worker	7 (0.9)	0 (0.0)
	other / unknown	233 (30.7)	2 (0.9)	0.47
Close contact with patients		553 (72.9)	11 (2.0)	0.2
Contact with animals		396 (52.2)	6 (1.0)	1.0
Use of antibiotics		261 (34.4)	4 (1.5)	1.0
Hospital admission / surgical treatment		85 (11.2)	0 (0.0)	-
Chronic respiratory disease		83 (10.9)	0 (0.0)	-
Chronic skin disease		81 (10.7)	2 (2.5)	0.37
Caring for a dependant relative		38 (5.0)	2 (5.3)	0.12
Outpatient care		33 (4.3)	0 (0.0)	-

^a row percent.

^b comparison of MRSA positive against negative tested staff.