Essay On Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Cultures are an effective way of guiding the Infectious Disease specialist to which antibiotics that are to be used to treat the patient with MRSA by looking at the type of strain that the patient has. The culture can also be tested for susceptibility to a variety of antibiotics. Surgery may be required to debride and drain the pus filled skin from the infected area, while antibiotics, such as vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin, clindomycin (as well as many other sulfa drugs and tetracyclines) could be prescribed to help eradicate the infection. Some antibiotics that are used to treat MRSA are only available intravenously. Unfortunately, some high-powered antibiotics are developing resistance to MRSA infections. Because of this, Vancomycin is no longer a sure treatment for MRSA due to questions surrounding its effectiveness. Patients that are prescribed antibiotics should never stop taking their antibiotics, even if they are starting to feel better. These infections are extremely dormant and are prone to reoccur if they develop resistance to the

Ampicillin, penicillin, streptomycin all sulphafurazole all were resistant to the bacteria as it may have grown a mutation.

Staphylococcus aureus is a cluster bacterium that can be found on the skin of around 25% of healthy adults. This bacterium is growing everyday all over the world and many people have no idea they are even carriers. “Staphylococcus aureus is present in the nose of adults (temporarily in 60% and permanently in 20 to 30%) and sometimes on the skin” (Levison). This bacterium has the ability to cause skin infection and sometimes may lead to severe life threatening diseases. There are several different strains of staphylococcus and depending on the severity of the infection is how a health care provider decides the treatment most efficient. Impetigo is more common in children, but adults still have the chance of getting this skin condition. Toxic Shock Syndrome is also associated with S. aureus and is found in at least 50% of the cases to date. S. aureus can display a variety of symptoms and all vary with the disease at hand. Symptoms can range from a boil on the skin or in the nose to skin rashes. More severe symptoms can be carbuncles and infection of the blood (sepsis).Staphylococcus aureus is an ugly bacterium; that can lead to several diseases, such as Toxic Shock Syndrome and Impetigo. S. aureus has multiple symptoms and is treated with a variety of antibiotics.

Before the discovery of penicillin, infection with S. aureus had a fatality rate of approximately 70%. After penicillins discovery and development, treatment of S. aureus infections became routine resulting in the death rate falling to 25%.5 However, penicillin use provided an inadvertent selection pressure which resulted in the bacteria mutating and becoming resistant to its effects. The penicillin-resistant S. aureus strains produced enzymes known as penicillinases which break penicillin down. In 1959, the antibiotic methicillin was developed to battle penicillin-resistant S. aureus infections. At first it was effective, but with increasing use of methicillin S. aureus once again acquired resistance through the process of natural selection

Three of the four quadrants were labeled S, P, T, for streptomycin, penicillin, and tetracycline. One quadrant was left blank for the control (Figure 1.1) Having a control of no antibiotic was used to show the growth of the bacteria when it is uninhibited by antibiotics. Then, Escherichia coli K12 from VWR (catalog #470179-082) and Staphylococcus aureus from VWR (catalog #470179-208) were evenly swabbed across the surface of the agar plate with a cotton swab; ten plates, contained E. coli and the other ten plates contained S. aureus. Then, Streptomycin (10 μg/mL), Penicillin (10 U = ~10 μg/mL), and Tetracycline (30 μg/mL) were obtained and placed into the middle of their respective quadrants. After this, the agar plates were stacked into two stacks of five, for each bacteria, were wrapped with parafilm, and were incubated at 37°C for 48 hours (Figure 1.2). After 48 hours, the plates were moved to a refrigerator at 4°C, until they were taken out of the fridge approximately a week after the stacks of agar plates had initially been placed in the incubator. The diameters of the zones of inhibition were then measured with a ruler and recorded to the nearest millimeter. After measuring the zones of inhibition, a gram-staining technique was used to illustrate the difference in cell wall structure between S. aureus and E. coli. First, a small sample of each species of bacteria was transferred with a loop from the agar plate onto two different areas on a microscope slide that had previously been washed, wiped with alcohol, and dried. Then a drop of water was added to each bacterial sample, was smeared into a thin layer, then allowed to air dry. Once the bacterial samples were dry, the slide was held at one end and was passed through a Bunsen burner flame with the smeared-bacteria samples facing up.

The Etest has also been used to evaluate the activity of antimicrobial combinations against mycobacteria, Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms, including Pseudomonas spp. Little has been published on the activity of levofloxacin combined with other antibiotics against P. aeruginosa, S. maltophilia, or B. cepacia. No synergy or antagonism was observed when levofloxacin was combined with zidovudine in vitro against P. aeruginosa [7,12,13].

MRSA is a type of staph bacteria, and stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Many antibiotics that usually treat staph infections are not effective in treating MRSA, as MRSA is resistant to antibiotics. Beta-lactams are the class MRSA is resistant to, and includes: penicillin, methicillin, and amoxicillin, to name a few. MRSA is a gram-positive bacterium, and on a gram stain, MRSA looks like a group of grapes.

Life History and Characteristics: Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium that is usually found in the nasal passages and on the skin of 15 to 40% of healthy humans, but can also survive in a wide variety of locations in the body. This bacterium is spread from person to person or to fomite by direct contact. Colonies of S. aureus appear in pairs, chains, or clusters. S. aureus is not an organism that is contained to one region of the world and is a universal health concern, specifically in the food handling industries.

Retrieved from http://www.idsociety.org/FOAR/Meredith_Littlejohn/ TESTIMONY OF DR. STUART B. LEVY President, Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics Distinguished Professor of Molecular Biology & Microbiology and of Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine Before the Subcommittee on Health of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce , 2 (7 September 2010) (testimony of DR. STUART B.

Where does S.aurues come from? How do we contract it? How do we prevent it? These questions flow through your head wondering when there are seasonal changes this type of bacterium is always the main topic. S.aureus is a gram-positive non-motile cocci. The name staphylo comes from the structure of it which looks like grapes but in clusters. Staphylococcus is one of the most five common causes of infections after an injury or surgery (Dr. Mandal, 2012). Staphylococcus belongs to a family known as Staphylococcaceae it mainly effects humans. S.aureus is contagious so it can be transmitted from person to person or from animals to person. The main areas where S.aureus can be contacted is through minor skin infections such as pimples, impetigo as

The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to examine sensitivity of antimicrobial agents, it fast and simple way to find an antibiotic to use for a treatment of some type of infection. This method uses a plate that has been cover with the testing bacteria and small disc covered in the antibiotic to see if the bacteria is able to around the disc, it will make an even circle around the disc which is the zone of inhibition. This zone of inhibition diameter can be measured and compared to the interpretation chart to find the antibiotic sensitivity or resistance. When the zone of inhibition is very small or nonexistent this shows that bacteria is resistant to the antibiotic and will not work against this bacterial infection. If the zone is

The introduction of different antimicrobials for treating different infections exhibited the importance of having antimicrobial susceptibility testing as a repetitive method in all microbiology laboratories. In laboratories this can be possible by using antibiotic disk that will diffuse gradually into the medium where the suspected organism is located. The fundamental principle of the antibiotic susceptibility testing was already being used in microbiology laboratories over 80 years. Several chemical agents like for example antiseptics, disinfectants, and antibiotics are engaged to fight the growth of microbes. Among these, antibiotics are commonly defined as the substances that microorganisms produce like Penicillium that can kill or inhibit the growth of other microorganisms, primarily bacteria. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests (ASTs) principally measures the capacity of an antibiotic or other antimicrobial agent to prevent microbial growth in vivo.

Staphylococcus Aureus, commonly known as “Staph”, is present on most of the population on our skin and in our nostrils and throat. It can live on even the healthiest, cleanliest individuals. The staph bacteria do not cause harm until there is an open area or break in the human’s main defense system, the skin. Once the bacteria enter the wound, an infection may occur.

MRSA is an infection caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus, this bacterium is commonly not harmful, can cause infection. This bacterium lives in the nose, throat, and also the groin and armpit. "Fortunately, only a few people are colonized by MRSA, usually in the nose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." (What is a MRSA infection, eMedicineHealth) "Anyone can get MRSA on their body from contact with an infected wound or by sharing personal items, such as towels or razors, that have touched infected skin. MRSA infection risk can be increased when a person is in activities or places that involve crowding, skin-to-skin contact, and shared equipment or supplies." (CDC, MRSA) As well as skin to skin contact, with

Only a few decades ago antibiotics was a wonder drug that could cure even the most deadly diseases. Presently, numerous antibiotics have become less effective or potent to against the bacterial infections. This is due to the high effectiveness and how frequently they were used to treat diseases. Serious infections have become resistant to the commonly used antibiotics have caused a major global healthcare concern for not only the present, but also the future. These bacterial infections require more serious and long term treatments, meaning they are usually more expensive and difficult to treat. The “post-antibiotic era” is significant issue that is affecting the way doctors treat bacterial infections, furthermore the steps to slow the process