<\/span><\/h2>\nMRSA is the term used for bacteria<\/span> of the Staphylococcus aureus<\/em> group that is resistant to the usual antibiotics used in the treatment of infections with such organisms<\/span>. Traditionally, MRSA stood for methicillin (methicillin) resistance, but the term increasingly refers to a multi-drug resistant group. Such bacteria often have resistance to many traditionally used antibiotics against S. aureus<\/em>.<\/p>\nMRSA is now generally classified into two types.<\/p>\n
\n- Hospital Acquired (HA) MRSA<\/li>\n
- Community Acquired MRSA (CA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/span>What causes MRSA?<\/span><\/h2>\nMethicillin resistance is due to the presence of mec gene<\/span>, placed on staphylococcal cassette Chromosome<\/span> mec (SCCmec). This alters the site where methicillin binds to kill the organism<\/span>. Therefore, methicillin cannot effectively bind to the bacteria. CA-MRSA is phenotypically and genotypically similar to HA-MRSA. CA-MRSA houses SCCmec type IV, V, or VII. However, the distinction between the two types becomes less and less over time.<\/p>\nInfections caused by MRSA are the same as other staph infections because the organism itself is not more virulent (or infectious) than the usual type S aureus.<\/p>\n
As another S. aureus<\/em>MRSA can colonize a person's skin and body without causing disease, and in this way it can be passed on to other people without knowing it. Problems arise in the treatment of overt infections with MRSA because the choice of antibiotics is very limited.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/span>Where is MRSA located?<\/span><\/h2>\nMRSA is found worldwide, predominantly in hospitals and institutions such as nursing homes, where it is known by the name of Hospital Acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA). Less frequently, MRSA is found in the general community (CA-MRSA).<\/p>\n
There are three main reservoirs (and, therefore, sources of spread and infection<\/span>) for MRSA in hospitals and institutions: personnel, patients and inanimate objects such as beds, sheets and utensils. By far the most important reservoir is patients, who can be colonized with MRSA without evidence of infection.<\/p>\nCommon MRSA colonization sites are:<\/p>\n
\n- Nostrils<\/li>\n
- Groin<\/li>\n
- Armpit<\/span><\/li>\n
- Wounds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Most health professionals who are colonized with MRSA do not develop an infection, and many spontaneously cleanse the body without treatment. Once colonization has been around for more than three months, it becomes much more difficult to remove.<\/p>\n
However, patients have a 30 to 60% infection risk after colonization. This is probably due to factors related to the disease for which they are hospitalized, which affect their ability to heal or control<\/span> colonization with the organism.<\/p>\nMost MRSA infections occur in wounds (eg, surgical wounds), skin (eg, intravenous access sites), or in the bloodstream. Mortality from these infections is not significantly different from those seen with the usual type S aureus infections.<\/p>\n
Community-acquired MRSA infections mainly occur:<\/p>\n
\n- In overcrowded places, due to frequent skin contact and sharing things. Examples include sports clubs, kindergartens, schools, and military barracks.<\/li>\n
- In people with a drainage cut or pain or who are carriers<\/span> from MRSA<\/li>\n
- In people who undergo tattoos or body piercings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Risk factors for severe skin infections with MRSA include:<\/span><\/p>\n