Outbreaks of invasive infection caused by methicillin-susceptible and methi
cillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus occur in hospitals, long term care i
nstitutions, and in patients discharged from these settings. In contrast, e
pidemic S. aureus infection has not been reported in well persons in the co
mmunity. Here, we describe a group of healthy young adults who resided in t
he same neighborhood and participated together in school sports, and who de
veloped serious S. aureus infections within 3 weeks of each other, suggesti
ng a true community outbreak. Timely use of molecular epidemiological tools
, however, demonstrated that their illnesses were caused by unrelated bacte
rial strains. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.