MRSA (Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus)
Staphylococcus aureus,"staph," are
bacteria found throughout our
environment and commonly carried on the
skin or in the nose of healthy people.
Approximately 25%to 30% of the
population is colonized (when bacteria
are present, but not causing an
infection) in the nose with staph
bacteria.
Sometimes, staph can cause an infection.
Staph bacteria are one of the most
common causes of skin infections in the
United States. Most of these skin
infections are minor (such as pimples
and boils) and can be treated without
antibiotics. However, staph bacteria
also can cause serious infections or
invasive infections such as surgical
wound infections, bloodstream
infections, and pneumonia.
In the 1960's the antibiotic methicillin
was commonly used to treat Staph
infections. This lead to the development
of strains of Staph-MRSA (Methicillin
Resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that
are resistant to methicillin as well as
other antibiotics such as oxacillin,
penicillin, amoxacillin. While 25% to
30% of the population is colonized with
staph, approximately 1% is colonized
with MRSA. |
| |
|
|
