HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND EPIDEMIOLOGY

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, first identified just over 4 decades ago, has undergone rapid evo-lutionary changes and epidemiologic expansion. It has spread beyond the confines of health care facilities, emerging anew in the community, where it is rapidly becoming a dominant pathogen. This has led to an important change in the choice of antibiotics in the management of community-acquired infections and has also led to the development of novel antimicrobials