To the Editor: The report by Risson and colleagues of a fatal case of necrotising pneumonia caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA)1 appropriately highlights the emerging issue of CA-MRSA infections in Australia,2 and the possibility that severe S. aureus sepsis may follow recurrent furunculosis. We wish to draw attention to the association between severe staphylococcal pneumonia and a preceding influenza-like illness.