Emerg Infect DiseidEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control112947012631711Research ArticleThe changing epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus?ChambersH. F.University of California San Francisco and San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, California, USA.Mar-Apr200172178182

Strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which had been largely confined to hospitals and long-term care facilities, are emerging in the community. The changing epidemiology of MRSA bears striking similarity to the emergence of penicillinase-mediated resistance in S. aureus decades ago. Even though the origin (hospital or the community) of the emerging MRSA strains is not known, the prevalence of these strains in the community seems likely to increase substantially.