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Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus is an important human pathogen that affects children worldwide. The number of publications discussing community-associated S. aureus infections, particularly in children, adolescents and young adults, has increased in recent years. This is related to the emergence and worldwide spread of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus and the increase in severe life-threatening community-associated S. aureus infections. The increase in severity has been seen with both methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible strains. This suggests that other virulence factors might be associated with the observed trend. Panton–Valentine leukocidin is a distinctive virulence factor associated with a highly aggressive and often fatal form of community-acquired infections. We propose that empiric treatment should be adapted to the type of infection and the resistance profile present in each country or region. In cases of severe infection, a combination of antibiotics, including at least one molecule active against protein synthesis such as clindamycin or linezolid, will be needed.
Acknowledgements
The authors are very thankful to Riqui Torres for the English-language editing.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors were supported by the Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases RD06/0008/0011 (Carmen Gomez and Fernando Chaves) and PI08/1520 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.