Summary

The paper describes a ten week outbreak of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in a Royal Naval Hospital. The organism was isolated from four female patients, nursed on a multi-disciplinary ward, all of whom had undergone surgery. One patient was a confused resident of a local nursing home, admitted with a fractured femur and pressure sores. The lesson from the survey is that a colonised bed-sore may be just as important a source of methicillin resistant Staph. aureus as a purulent discharging wound in a post-operative patient.