Spread of community-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus skin and soft-tissue infection within a family: implications forantibiotic therapy and prevention

Outbreaks or clusters of community-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcusaureus (CA-MRSA) within families have been reported. We describea family cluster of CA-MRSA skin and soft-tissue infection where CA-MRSA wassuspected because of recurrent infections which failed to respond to flucloxacillin.While the prevalence of CA-MRSA is low worldwide, CA-MRSA should be consideredin certain circumstances depending on clinical presentation and risk assessment.Surveillance cultures of family contacts of patients with MRSA should be consideredto help establish the prevalence of CA-MRSA and to inform the optimal choiceof empiric antibiotic treatment.