Since their discovery in the 1960s, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains continue to present unique challenges to clinicians, microbiologists, and the molecular biologists around the world. These organisms are typically resistant to several other antimicrobial agents, including aminoglycosides, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, fluoroquinolones and macrolides and are susceptible only to vancomycin. In fact there is increasing evidence that this susceptibility will soon disappear. In this book, internationally renown authors comprehensively review all aspects of MRSA research. Topics covered include strategies for the detection and typing of MRSA strains, epidemiological characterisation, molecular evolution of MRSA, vancomycin resistant S. aureus, mechanisms of methicillin resistance, virulence mechanisms in MRSA pathogenesis, recommended treatment of MRSA infections and options for the prevention and control of MRSA infections. An essential text for all scientists and clinicians with an interest in the Staphylococcus aureus or antibiotic resistance.