Our findings suggest that USA300 infections are negatively associated with severe clinical courses, suggesting less virulence than other MRSA strains, except in the setting of pneumonia with septic pulmonary emboli.

The overall prevalence of CA-MRSA colonization in a random sample of healthy individuals in 4 non-healthcare locations in Newark and Wilmington was 1.0%. Despite concerns that the prevalence of MRSA colonization is increasing, it still remains relatively low in our community, perhaps because CA-MRSA colonization tends to occur in clusters.

No abstract