MRSA were isolated from soil samples obtained from close to hospitals in located in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Hafr Al-Batin)  and in the UK (Sheffield). The highest population of MRSA often occurred close to the hospitals and declined with distance from it. This trend was not however uniform and in some case the reverse occurred. The highest numbers of MRSA were isolated from hospitals adjacent to the Riyadh hospital followed by the UK sampling site. The source of MRSA in soils adjacent to these hospitals ins not immediately apparent, but it is of obvious potential concern, since these antibiotic bacteria could be transferred on the feet of medical staff, patents and visitors from the exterior to the inside of the hospitals in question.