Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococci

The paper by Benner and Morthland in this issue of the Journal is an important reminder that all is not yet well with the treatment of staphylococcal infections. Until only a few years ago, an increase in the incidence of this kind of disease, together with a decrease in the susceptibility of the responsible organisms to such common antibiotics as penicillin G, erythromycin, chloramphenicol and the tetracyclines, combined to create the "staphylococcus problem." The outlook for recovery from life-threatening infections became very grim. This progressive lethal tide began to recede in 1959, however, when methicillin, the first of the penicillinase-resistant . . .