Staphylococcus aureus 'Down Under': Contemporary epidemiology of S. aureus in Australia, New Zealand, and the South West Pacific

Abstract

The clinical and molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus disease has changed considerably over the past two decades, particularly with the emergence and spread of community-associated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (CA-MRSA) clones. Indeed, some of the first global descriptions of CA-MRSA were from remote indigenous communities in Western Australia, and from Pacific Peoples in New Zealand. The epidemiology of S. aureus infections in the South West Pacific has several unique features, largely because of the relative geographical isolation and unique indigenous communities residing in this region. In particular, a number of distinct CA-MRSA clones circulate in Australia and New Zealan..