Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most successful modern pathogens. The same organism that lives as a commensal and is transmitted in both health-care and community settings is also a leading cause of bacteraemia, endocarditis, skin and soft tissue infections, bone and joint infections and hospital-acquired infections. Genetically diverse, the epidemiology of MRSA is primarily characterized by the serial emergence of epidemic strains. Although its incidence has recently declined in some regions, MRSA still poses a formidable clinical threat, with persistently high morbidity and mortality. Successful treatment remains challenging and requires the evaluation of both novel antimicrobials and adjunctive aspects of care, such as infectious disease consultation, echocardiography and source control. In this Review, we provide an overview of basic and clinical MRSA research and summarize the expansive body of literature on the epidemiology, transmission, genetic diversity, evolution, surveillance and treatment of MRSA. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major pathogen both within hospitals and in the community. In this Review, Fowler and colleagues provide an overview of basic and clinical MRSA research and explore the epidemiology, transmission, genetic diversity, evolution, surveillance and treatment of MRSA.

Keywords

EpidemiologyIntensive care medicineStaphylococcus aureusTransmission (telecommunications)Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureusStaphylococcal infectionsDiseaseBiologyInfection controlMedicineInternal medicineBacteria

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial AgentsBacteremiaClinical Trials as TopicCommunity-Acquired InfectionsCross InfectionEvolutionMolecularGenetic VariationHumansIncidenceMethicillinMethicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureusSoft Tissue InfectionsStaphylococcal Infections

Affiliated Institutions

Related Publications

Publication Info

Year
2019
Type
review
Volume
17
Issue
4
Pages
203-218
Citations
1856
Access
Closed

External Links

Download PDF (Free) View on DOI.org PubMed Semantic Scholar

Social Impact

Altmetric
PlumX Metrics

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

1856
OpenAlex
0
Influential

Cite This

Nicholas Turner, Batu K. Sharma‐Kuinkel, Stacey A. Maskarinec et al. (2019). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: an overview of basic and clinical research. Nature Reviews Microbiology , 17 (4) , 203-218. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-018-0147-4

Identifiers

DOI
10.1038/s41579-018-0147-4
PMID
30737488
PMCID
PMC6939889

Data Quality

Data completeness: 86%