• Petter Elstrøm and Preben Aavitsland.
• Avdeling for infeksjonsovervåking Nasjonalt folkehelseinstitutt Postboks 4404 Nydalen 0403 Oslo. petter.elstrom@fhi.no
• Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. 2008 Dec 4; 128 (23): 2730-3.

BackgroundStaphylococcus aureus rarely cause severe infections in otherwise healthy individuals, but is an important pathogen in settings where people susceptible to infectious diseases are gathered. Morbidity and mortality has increased more for MRSA infections than for those caused by sensitive background. Staphylococcus aureus rarely cause severe infections in otherwise healthy individuals, but is an important pathogen in settings where people susceptible to infectious diseases are gathered. Morbidity and mortality has increased more for MRSA infections than for those caused by sensitive S.AUREUS:. An increasing incidence of MRSA may necessitate changing the guidelines for empirical treatment of staphylococcal infections, which will in turn increase the costs of treatment and further accelerate the evolution of bacterial resistance.Material And MethodsThe article is based on review of literature retrieved through a non-systematic search and national guidelines for prevention and control of MRSA infections.Results And InterpretationThe incidence of MRSA is low in the Nordic countries, but increasing. Few severe MRSA infections have been notified in Norway so far, but the number of severe infections will increase in line with the increasing incidence. The incidence of MRSA is decisive for choice of strategy. The Netherlands and the Nordic countries have a search and destroy strategy towards MRSA, but with some differences in the choice of measures and target groups. In the draft of a new Norwegian MRSA guideline it is suggested to have a search and destroy strategy in hospitals, while the measures outside health care institutions are targeted towards people with the highest risk of transmitting the bacteria to hospitals or nursing homes.

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