Mrsa Infection

Staph infections are caused by bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. Sometimes, these bacteria become resistant to many common antibiotics, making them harder to treat. This resistant form is called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Many MRSA infections happen in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings. We call this "healthcare-associated MRSA" (HA-MRSA). It often develops after medical procedures or from using medical devices, like catheters or artificial joints. HA-MRSA can spread when healthcare workers have unclean hands or when patients touch contaminated surfaces.

A different type of MRSA, called "community-associated MRSA" (CA-MRSA), can affect healthy people outside of healthcare settings. It usually starts as a painful skin infection, like a boil. CA-MRSA often spreads through direct skin-to-skin contact. People who are in close contact with others, like high school athletes, childcare providers, or those living in crowded housing, may be at a higher risk.

Staph skin infections, including MRSA, often begin as small, red, swollen bumps that look similar to pimples or spider bites. These bumps can be:

• Uncomfortably warm when you touch them.
• Filled with pus or other fluid. This discharge might ooze or leak from the infected area.
• Sometimes accompanied by a fever. A fever is your body's way of trying to fight off the infection.

Watch out for minor skin issues like pimples, bug bites, cuts, and scrapes, particularly in kids. If a wound looks or feels infected (redness, swelling, pus), or if your child has a fever along with the skin problem, it's important to see a doctor right away.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, often called staph, come in various forms. Many people, about one-third of the population, have staph bacteria on their skin or in their noses. Usually, these bacteria are harmless. They only cause problems if they get inside the body, such as through a cut or scrape. Even then, in healthy people, they typically just lead to minor skin issues.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that a small percentage of people, about 5%, carry a specific type of staph bacteria called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on a regular basis. This means they have MRSA bacteria consistently residing in or on their bodies.

Different types of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) are found in different places. This means that the things that increase your chance of getting one type of MRSA are different from the things that increase your risk of getting the other. For example, hospital MRSA is often caught in hospitals, while community MRSA is more common in the community. The reasons why you might get one type versus the other are also different.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are tough to treat because they don't respond to many common antibiotic medicines. This makes them harder to control and can lead to serious health problems, even death in some cases.

MRSA can infect different parts of your body, including:

• Your blood: This is a very serious complication, as MRSA in the blood can quickly spread throughout your body.
• Your lungs: Lung infections, or pneumonia, caused by MRSA can be severe and require intensive care.
• Your heart: MRSA can cause problems with the heart, potentially leading to serious heart conditions.
• Your bones (osteomyelitis): An MRSA infection in the bones can cause significant pain and damage.
• Your joints (septic arthritis): MRSA can infect a joint, causing swelling, pain, and difficulty moving the joint.

Preventing Hospital-Acquired MRSA (HA-MRSA)

People with MRSA infections or who carry MRSA bacteria in their bodies are often kept separate in hospitals. This is done to stop the spread of the infection. To keep the infection from spreading, visitors and healthcare workers caring for these patients might need to wear special protective clothing.

Following strict handwashing rules is also important. Healthcare workers can prevent HA-MRSA by washing their hands with soap and water, or using hand sanitizer, before and after each patient interaction. This includes before and after checking on patients, giving treatments, and any other time they come into contact with the patient or their surroundings.

Regular cleaning and disinfecting of hospital rooms, surfaces, equipment, and laundry is also crucial. This means thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces that a patient might touch, as well as items that come into contact with a patient, like medical equipment. Disinfecting helps kill the bacteria and prevents the spread of MRSA.

Doctors can diagnose MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) by looking for the bacteria in a sample of body tissue or nasal mucus. This sample is sent to a lab. There, the bacteria are placed in a special dish with nutrients to help them grow.

This process usually takes about two days because the bacteria need time to multiply. However, newer tests are now more common. These newer tests look directly for the genetic material (DNA) of the staph bacteria. This means they can often find the bacteria much faster, sometimes in just a few hours.

Staph infections, whether caught in a hospital or the community, can often be treated with antibiotics.

Sometimes, a doctor might need to surgically drain a large, pus-filled bump (abscess) along with giving antibiotics. This is because the infection might be too deep or widespread for antibiotics alone to clear it up.

However, not every staph infection needs antibiotics. A small, surface boil that's not causing significant problems might just be drained by the doctor. This is because antibiotics aren't always needed for minor infections, and sometimes they can cause side effects.