Abstract
Multiply antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli have both caused outbreaks in London in recent years, and for this reason have been referred to as E(epidemic)MRSA and EMREC respectively. In each case it has been questioned whether either organism has properties other than antibiotic resistance that distinguish them from other strains. Evidence is adduced to suggest that EMRSA has properties that enable it to spread particularly well, and that EMREC is particularly virulent. Both were introduced into our environment by chance, and were helped by their antibiotic resistance to become involved in a train of events—different in each case—that culminated in severe infection in a small number of patients, and thus to further investigation. The organisms involved in such outbreaks are worthy of investigation and control, if only because of the difficulty of treating clinical infections when they develop.
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