ABSTRACT
Introduction Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an endemic hospital pathogen that continues to consume excessive healthcare resources and cause morbidity and mortality. Ten studies have been selected to highlight current areas of research in order to further the understanding and control ofMRSA. The startling emergence of community-acquired MRSA infection has stimulated much research to understand the epidemiology of this new significant threat 11,21. Two recent reports succeed considerably in this respect. Vandenesch et al. report that the gene coding for PantonValentine leucotoxin is a stable genetic marker found in all the 117 communityacquired (CA) MRSA strains examined. Their data imply that CA-MRSA strains have evolved as successful community-based pathogens, and that they have spread to distinct geographical locations. A detailed molecular investigation by Mongkolrattanothai and colleagues of S. aureus isolates causing severe community-acquired infection in four children concludes that it is likely that these and other CA-MRSA strains emerged as a result of the mobile chromosomal cassette encoding methicillin resistance (SCCmec type IV) have been acquired by methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains. A study from The Netherlands (misleadingly titled as the isolates did not originate there) found a surprisingly high prevalence of MRSA isolates with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides, highlighting the need for microbiology laboratories to use methods capable of detecting this trait.
