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Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus
MRSA, a form of Staph infection, recently became the contributor to more deaths than AIDS. Antibiotics frequently are not effective when used to treat many bacterial infections, including MRSA, which has contributed to an estimated 18,000 deaths nationally every year, as widely reported last year.
A staph infection often begins as a skin lesion that refuses to heal normally. The lesion begins as a cosmetic problem and can rapidly develop into a more serious condition. We have a new solution, said a spokesman for Phillips Company. This simple topical cleanser can be used to wash away MRSA bacteria without antibiotics or other medicine. The use of a cleanser offers a simple, low-cost solution to MRSA problems on the skin.
How common is MRSA?
About 0.8% (2.3 millions people) of the U.S. population is colonized with MRSA, and these people are called MRSA carriers. The proportion of health-care-associated Staphylococcal infections that are due to MRSA (known as hospitalized or HA-MRSA) rapidly increased from 2% in intensive-care units in 1974 to 64% in 2004. Approximately 126,000 hospitalizations are due to MRSA yearly. Recent data suggest that MRSA causes about 59% of all skin and soft tissue infections. Invasive (serious) MRSA infections occur in approximately 94,000 people each year and are associated with approximately 19,000 deaths, reportedly more deaths than HIV per year. Of these MRSA infections that cause death, about 86% are HA-MRSA and 14% are CA-MRSA (community-acquired MRSA ; MRSA infections that are acquired outside health-care settings).
MRSA Infection Causes
A genetic element that can be transferred from one bacterium to another causes S. aureusto develop resistance to antibiotics. At least five types of genetic material (SCCmec genesI-V) have been identified. Hospital-acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA) usually have genes I-III while community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) have genes IV-V. HA-MRSA is resistant to more antibiotics than CA-MRSA. MRSA can be transmitted by direct (though skin and body fluids) and indirect contact (from towels, diapers, and toys) to uninfected people. Also, some individuals have MRSA on their body (on their skin or in their nose or throat) but show no symptoms of infection; these people are termed MRSA carriers (see above) and can transmit MRSA to others. Statistics show that CA-MRSA is the predominant MRSA type found in the population.
MRSA Infection Risk Factors
Risk factors for getting MRSA include playing contact sports, sharing towels or other personal items, having any condition that suppresses immune system function (for example, HIV, cancer, or chemotherapy), unsanitary or crowded living conditions (dormitories or military barracks), being a health-care worker, and young or old age. Almost anything that leads to breaks in the skin (for example, scratches, abrasions, or punctures) will increase infection risk. Hospitalized patients are at risk of having health-care workers and MRSA carriers accidently transfer MRSA between patients. Unfortunately, hospitalized patients usually have sites (for example, IV lines, surgical incision sites) that are easily contaminated with MRSA.
MRSA Infection Symptoms
Symptoms of MRSA infections are variable; however, pus production is often found in the infected area. Classic examples of pus-containing areas in patients are boils (pus in hair follicles), abscesses (pus collected underneath the skin), carbuncles (large abscesses with pus draining), sty (pus in the eyelid gland), and impetigo (pus in blisters on the skin).Cellulitis (infection under the skin or fatty tissue) usually does not have pus but begins with small red bumps on skin and also may be due to MRSA. These symptoms are most often found in CA-MRSA but can also be found in HA-MRSA. When antibiotic therapy fails, CA- and HA-MRSA should be considered as a potential cause of infection. HA-MRSA infections are usually suspected when the hospitalized patient develops signs ofsepsis (fever, chills, low blood pressure, weakness, and mental deterioration), even if the patient is being treated with an antibiotic. CA-MRSA patients that develop sepsis orpneumonia (lung infection) need immediate hospitalization. However, hospitalized patients do not need to have a primary site of MRSA infection, only a site where MRSA can invade (invasive or serious MRSA) and proliferate (for example, any surgical site, IV site, or site of an implanted device). Consequently, symptoms of pus production or signs of sepsis in any hospitalized patient, especially those with immune compromise (for example, HIV, cancer, or the elderly) could be due to MRSA.