Abstract
Members of the genus Staphylococcus are environmental organisms and are not restricted to humans or other animals. Methicillin- resistant S. aureus is known to be able to survive for long periods in the hospital environment, on walls and floors and in bedding. As yet, however, there seems to be no reports of these organisms being found in soils. Such a finding would be important as it would provide an obvious mechanism by which MRSA could be carried from the external environment into hospitals. The aim of the work reported here was therefore, to determine if MRSA are present in soils and if there is a correlation between the incidence of these organisms in soils and the proximity of the sampling sites to hospitals in both the UK and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.