Epidemiological and resistance issues in multidrug-resistant staphylococci and enterococci

The spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is continuous. The emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) was rapidly followed by its introduction into and dissemination in hospitals in countries where CA-MRSA prevalence is high. Vancomycin-resistant enterococci have recently been responsible for outbreaks in European hospitals in relation to dissemination of hospital-adapted isolates. Although new antimicrobials have been recently introduced into therapy to fight multidrug-resistant Gram-positive cocci, resistance to these compounds has already emerged in rare strains. This review presents recent data concerning the advance of our knowledge related to these problems.