A 6-year-old girl with community-acquired disseminated infection caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is described. She had sepsis, meningo-encephalitis, pyomyositis, osteomyelitis, pericarditis and pulmonary embolisation caused by a multi-resistant strain of MRSA. Vancomycin is not routinely recommended as the first-line antimicrobial agent for suspected Staphylococcus aureus infection; however, it should be considered pending susceptibility results in patients presenting with severe sepsis in areas where the prevalence of MRSA is high.