CA-MRSA: Community Acquired Methicillin-Resistant  Staphylococcus aureus

• Staphylococcus aureus is a bacteria that can cause a variety of skin infections including pimples, boils, abscesses, cellulitis, wound infections, and impetigo.
• In the 1960's strains of Staphylococcus aureus that were resistant to penicillin-type antibiotics started appearing in hospitals and health care settings. These were referred to as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Infections.
• More recently, strains of penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have increasingly become the cause of skin infections in healthy individuals in the community. These are now being referred to as Community Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) Infections. There have been outbreaks in athletes (e.g., wrestling teams) and in prison populations.
• CA-MRSA requires treatment with specific types of antibiotics.
• More information about CA-MRSA is available at
  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_public.html