Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
hideMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It may also be referred to as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA). MRSA is by definition a strain of Staphylococcus aureus that is resistant to a large group of antibiotics called the beta-lactams, which include the penicillins and the cephalosporins.
MRSA is a resistant variation of the common bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. It has evolved an ability to survive treatment with beta-lactam antibiotics, including methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, and oxacillin. MRSA is especially troublesome in hospital-associated (nosocomial) infections. In hospitals, patients with open wounds, invasive devices, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk for infection than the general public. Hospital staff who do not follow proper sanitary procedures may transfer bacteria from patient to patient. Visitors to patients with MRSA infections or MRSA colonization are advised to follow hospital isolation protocol by using the provided gloves, gowns, and masks if indicated. Visitors who do not follow such protocols are capable of spreading the bacteria to cafeterias, bathrooms, and elevators.
The organism is often sub-categorized as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) or health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) although this distinction is complex. Some have defined CA-MRSA by characteristics of patients who develop an MRSA infection while other authors have defined CA-MRSA by genetic characteristics of the bacteria themselves. The first reported cases of community-acquired MRSA began to appear in the mid-1990s from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Finland, Canada, and Samoa, notable because they involved people who had not been exposed to a health-care setting. In 1997, four fatal cases were reported involving children from Minnesota and North Dakota. Over the next several years, it became clear that CA-MRSA infections were caused by strains of MRSA that differed from the older and better studied health care-associated strains. The new CA-MRSA strains have rapidly become the most common cause of cultured skin infections among individuals seeking emergency medical care in urban areas of the United States. These strains also commonly cause skin infections in men who have sex with men, athletes, prisoners and soldiers. However, in a 2002 report about CRSA, many cases were children who required hospitalization.
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News tagged with mrsa
New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The community-associated strain of the deadly superbug MRSA -- an infection-causing bacteria resistant to most common antibiotics -- poses a far greater health threat than previously known and is making its way into hospitals, ...
MRSA strain linked to high death rates
Nov 01, 2009 |
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A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford ...
'Evolutionary forecasting' for drug resistance
Sep 21, 2009 |
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Rice University biochemists are developing a system of "evolutionary forecasting" to better understand the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance.
How manuka honey helps fight infection
Sep 07, 2009 |
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Manuka honey may kill bacteria by destroying key bacterial proteins. Dr Rowena Jenkins and colleagues from the University of Wales Institute - Cardiff investigated the mechanisms of manuka honey action and found that its ...
MRSA may accompany hospital patients into home health settings
Aug 10, 2009 |
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Infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) appears relatively common among patients discharged from the hospital into home health care, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of ...
1 in 4 nursing home residents carry MRSA
Jun 04, 2009 |
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MRSA is a major problem in nursing homes with one in four residents carrying the bacteria, a study by Queen's University Belfast and Antrim Area Hospital has found.
When it comes to transmission of MRSA and C. difficile, dogs are not necessarily man's best friend
May 07, 2009 |
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In a letter to the Editor of the Journal of Hospital Infection, published by Elsevier, S. Lefebvre and J.S. Weese from the University of Guelph in Canada describe a study that investigated whether MRSA and C.difficile could be passed b ...
Handwashing more important than isolation in controlling MRSA superbug infection
Mar 31, 2009 |
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Regular handwashing by hospital staff and visitors did more to prevent the spread of the MRSA superbug than isolating infected patients.
Researchers identify genes for thiostrepton, a powerful drug whose use is now limited
Mar 23, 2009 |
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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have identified the genetic machinery responsible for synthesizing thiostrepton, a powerful antibiotic produced by certain bacteria. Though effective against ...
Researchers to develop coatings that kill superbugs
Mar 19, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Bath are to be part of a €3 million Europe-wide research collaboration to pioneer research into safer, more effective anti-bacterial plastics and coatings that can be used ...
Cellphones may spread superbugs in hospitals: study
Mar 06, 2009 |
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Cell phones belonging to hospital staff were found to be tainted with bacteria -- including the drug-resistant MRSA superbug -- and may be a source of hospital-acquired infections, according to study released Friday.
What makes C-Diff superbug deadly?
Mar 01, 2009 |
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A major breakthrough about the potentially deadly superbug Clostridium difficile (C-diff) could lead to new ways to combat the bacterium, according to a study to be published March 1 in the journal Nature.
Study indicates some MRSA infections in ICU patients have been decreasing in recent years
Feb 17, 2009 |
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In contrast to the perception that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections associated with use of a catheter is an increasing problem in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, the incidence ...
New twist on old medical technology may prevent amputations
Jan 27, 2009 |
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Old technologies, bone cement and a well known antibiotic, may effectively fight an emerging infection in soldiers with compound bone fractures, according to a study published online today in the Journal of Orthopedic Re ...
Study finds MRSA in Midwestern swine, workers
Jan 23, 2009 |
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The first study documenting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in swine and swine workers in the United States has been published by University of Iowa researchers.
