Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): focus on community-associated MRSA

Abstract

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are defned as occurring in patients who have no association with the healthcare setting. CA-MRSA has emerged as a common cause of community infections in the US and are distinct from MRSA strains classically associated with healthcare-associated infections from genotypic and phenotypic perspectives. They are frequently susceptible to non-beta-lactam antimicrobials, express the SCC mec type IV or V gene and contain the Panton-Valentine leukocidin virulence factor. They most commonly cause mild skin infections, but have been associated with severe soft tissue infection and with necrotising pneumonia.