Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). Until recently, S. aureus pneumonia has been considered primarily a nosocomial infection, and was reported infrequently as a cause of severe community-acquired pneumonia. In recent years, there have been several reports of MRSA community-acquired pneumonia cases associated with influenza among healthy individuals resulting in hospitalization or death. During the 2007-08 influenza season, the WA DOH received reports of necrotizing staphylococcus pneumonia associated with flu-like illness and confirmed flu; these included severe cases of pneumonia caused by MRSA. We examined data from our biosurveillance system to describe trends in staphylococcus infection among ED patients and patients hospitalized with pneumonia or influenza in King County, WA.
Objective
We used our biosurveillance system to describe trends in emergency department visits for SSTI as well as staphylococcus pneumonia hospitalization trends.