What is community-acquired MRSA?
Community-acquired MRSA infection (CA-MRSA) is when an MRSA infection occurs in a previously healthy individual who has no recognised risk factors associated with MRSA – for example, no previous hospitalisation, surgical procedures or prolonged antibiotic treatment. In the UK, the term community-acquired MRSA may refer to infections in residential homes caused by hospital strains of MRSA However, some other countries (eg United States) are describing strains of MRSA that have arisen in the community (‘true’ community MRSA) and are very different from hospital MRSA strains. Some of these strains carry a toxin called Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL). These usually affect otherwise healthy people and are unusual in the UK .
