**8. Conclusions and perspectives**

Given the high rates of oxacillin resistance reported in various countries and the emergence of vancomycin-resistant MRSA samples, further detailed studies on the characteristics of circulating strains in hospitals and the characterization of clones prevailing in larger regions are necessary since the different MRSA clones vary in virulence and antimicrobial resistance. The molecular epidemiology methods are useful tools in these types of study, and the MLST technique is especially useful due to its versatility, easy performance and high reproducibility, with applications in localized studies, such as in the characterization of outbreaks and in the detection of circulating clones in large regions.
