Recurring methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in a football team. Emerg Infect Dis 2005

We conducted a prospective cohort study of 795 outpatients, many of whom were human immunodeficiency virus–in-fected men who have sex with men, to characterize risk of skin and soft-tissue infection (SSTI) associated with methi-cillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nares and peri-anal colonization. Multivariate analysis revealed that peri-anal colonization, drug use, and prior SSTIs were strongly associated with development of an SSTI. Of the patients who were colonized with MRSA at study entry, 36.7 % developed an SSTI during the ensuing 12 months, compared with 8.1% of persons who were not colonized with MRSA. Community-associated (CA) methicillin-resistant Staphylococ-cus aureus (MRSA) is increasingly recognized as an important cause of skin and soft-tissue infection (SSTI) [1]. However, the pathogenesis and risk factors for CA-MRSA SSTI remain in-completely understood [2]. The impact of CA-MRSA has been considerable in clinica