Topical mupirocin was introduced in NZ in 1986. In the 1990s, it was available for purchase from pharmacies without a prescription.  Each year during the 1990s, approximately 200,000 15g tubes of “Bactroban” were dispensed. This annual number of dispensings was approximately equivalent to one tube dispensed per 17 people each year. Over nine years, the prevalence of mupirocin resistance in strains of S. aureus isolated from samples submitted to the Auckland community microbiology laboratory increased from zero to over 20%.