A multi-beach study of Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, and enterococci in seawater and beach sand.

Incidences of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have risen worldwide prompting a need to better understand routes of human exposure and whether standard bacterial water quality monitoring practices adequately account for this potential threat. Beach water and sand samples were analyzed during summer months for S.