Aims and Objectives

Staphylococcus aureus is a among the most common pathogens causing infections in human populations worldwide. While the majority of clinically significant S. aureus infections are of the skin and soft tissues, the species is also a common cause of osteomyelitis, bacteremia, device infections, surgical site infections, and hospital-acquired pneumonia. As there is no available vaccine to prevent S. aureus infections, and because S. aureus is a commensal organism, carried by approximately 40% of people as part of the microbiome, prevention of infection is complex. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of S. aureus strains vary greatly, and S. aureus has evolved resistance to all available classes of antimicrobials after their introduction. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, first reported in 1961, are inherently resistant to all conventional beta-lactam drugs. MRSA particularly remains a scourge of health services worldwide, and it continues to evolve, with new superantigen and toxin-bearing strains that have arisen de novo in the community since the 1990s. These so-called community-associated (CA-) MRSA strains are highly transmissible and can cause fatal infections even in previously healthy individuals. Other strains have been commonly found among livestock and wild animals, and these are often termed livestock associated (LA-) MRSA strains.

S. aureus has a unique ability to colonise, evolve, invade human tissues, causing a wide variety of primary and opportunist infections, to survive in the environment, and to spread from person to person, often via healthcare staff, close contacts, or fomites. Genomic studies of S. aureus have demonstrated the great potential genetic diversity of the species and have been used to elucidate mechanisms underlying strain differences in pathogenicity, virulence and antimicrobial resistance.

The Staphylococcus aureus Working Group aims to foster the international exchange of ideas and new research into all aspects of S. aureus with a view to discovering the best control and treatment strategies by implementing the following work plan:

• Organise workshops on S. aureus
• Organise occasional post-graduate educational meetings on S. aureus
• Sponsor webinars on all aspects of S. aureus treatment, prevention and surveillance
• Encourage submission of original research to the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents and the Journal of Global Antimicrobial Resistance
• Encourage collaborative research on S. aureus
• Prepare and publish consensus statements on important clinical aspects of S. aureus

Webinars

Antibiotic susceptibility patterns used for epidemiologic surveillance of Staphylococcus aureus

  Regional and National MRSA Surveillance Programmes 

The first meeting included brief presentations from laboratories in several countries that undertake MRSA surveillance. This was followed by a period of moderated discussion to assess best practices. The goals were to understand the variety of approaches to surveillance worldwide and to develop principles that may underlie future harmonization of surveillance methods.  

Presentations / Publications

Future / Ongoing Projects

• Planning / writing consensus papers relevant to the Working Group
• Regular group meetings
• Sending proposals for the 33rd International Congress of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ICC)