Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Detection, epidemiology, and control measures.

MRSA are important nosocomial pathogens in many larger medical centers and are likely to find their way into hospitals that have not yet been affected. Prompt implementation of a variety of control measures shortly after the first few cases has been recognized as the approach most likely to result in the eradication of the organism. Once MRSA have become endemic, extraordinary efforts may be required to stop nosocomial transmission. For patients infected with MRSA, vancomycin is the drug of choice.