Community-Associated MRSA — Resistance and Virulence Converge

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Abstract
Laypeople and health care professionals alike recognize Staphylococcus aureus as an important cause of disease and understand that antibiotic-resistant strains pose a threat to the community. Before the availability of antibiotics, invasive staphylococcal disease was often fatal, and the introduction of penicillin in the 1940s dramatically improved survival. Although penicillinase-producing strains soon emerged, methicillin and other penicillinase-stable β-lactam agents filled the breach. However, methicillin-resistant strains of S. aureus (MRSA), which are resistant to the entire class of β-lactam agents, were identified almost immediately and are now found in hospitals worldwide. Despite the growing prevalence of MRSA in hospitals, these strains . . .

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