Gram-positive bacteria can be commensals of the skin and mucous membranes but can also cause disease with clearly defined clinical syndromes. Streptococci are usually penicillin susceptible, while staphylococci are often penicillin resistant. Understanding of the epidemiology of streptococcal and staphylococcal disease, and in particular patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility, has improved over the past decade (Schaumburg et al. 2014a; Barth et al. 2016).