Community acquired MRSA infections—Three recent cases and an overview of CA MRSA infections

Skin and soft tissue infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus are commonly encountered in pediatric practice. Staph infections acquired in the hospital setting are generally methicillin resistant. However these days, infections which are clearly “community acquired” are increasingly found to be due to methicillin resistant Staphylococcus—so called CA MRSA. Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) refers to a MRSA infection with onset in the community in an individual lacking established MRSA risk factors, such as recent hospitalization, surgery, residence in a long-term care facility, receipt of dialysis, or presence of invasive medical devices. Literature from western countries suggests a significant prevalence of CA MRSA and the same scenario seems to be developing in our country. We had three recent cases of such CA MRSA infections, with no prior contact with hospital, all “community acquired” which was also reflected in their antibiotic sensitivity pattern.