Epidemiologic importance of MRSA
Increased morbidity, mortality & cost
Epidemic MRSA “adds” to overall nosocomial infection rate.
Suboptimal outcome of vancomycin treatment
Emergence of vancomycin-intermediate (1997) and vancomycin-resistant (2002) S.aureus
Clonal variation in genomic island allotype : variation in fitness & virulence.
Emergence of community acquired , hyper-virulent MRSA worldwide : meticillin resistance island SCCmec type IV
Few controlled trials on efficacy of control measures.