MRSA: An evolving “super-bug” epidemic MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and is a bacterial infection that is highly resistant to some antibiotics. In short, antibiotics have been used since the 40's to stop the growth of bacteria. However, the more antibiotics are used, the quicker the bacteria become resistant to it while each year more types of bacteria adapt and become resistant to antibiotics. With MRSA being so resistant to many of the antibiotics, classifying it as a “super-bug”, it makes treatment of skin infections and invasive internal infections much more complicated. This leads to many yearly deaths. In fact, MRSA statistics show that more people die each year from MRSA infections than the …show more content…
It is advised to recognize these signs and consult a doctor as soon as these symptoms arise. You should keep an eye on minor skin problems such as pimples, insect bites, cuts and scrapes (especially in children) and see a doctor if the wounds become infected. Other symptoms and signs that the infection is developing include drainage of pus or other fluids from the site, fever, skin abscesses, and warmth around the infected area. Symptoms of more serious MRSA cases that indicate the infection has spread include chest pain, chills, cough, fatigue, general ill feeling (malaise), headache, muscle aches, rash, and shortness of breath. The risk factors for the two different strains of MRSA differ. In the healthcare associated MRSA, the risk is obviously increased for elderly patients and those who are sick with weakened immune systems. The risk of MRSA is also higher among patients who have an invasive medical device inserted such as IVs and catheters. These provide a pathway for MRSA to get into the body. MRSA is also more prevalent in nursing homes. Carriers of MRSA have the ability to Page 3 spread it even if they're not sick or show symptoms of infection. In terms of community acquired MRSA, those at higher risk include people who participate in contact sports since it spreads easily through cuts and abrasions and skin-to-skin contact. Also, are those living in crowded or unsanitary conditions. Outbreaks of MRSA have
“Superbug” is the nickname given to the bacterium MRSA. It is called this because of its resistance to most antibiotics (1). Each year there are approximately 126,000 people hospitalized and 19,000
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or more commonly, MRSA, is an emerging infectious disease affecting many people worldwide. MRSA, in particular, is a very interesting disease because although many people can be carriers of it, it generally only affects those with a depressed immune system; this is why it is so prevalent in places like nursing homes and hospitals. It can be spread though surgeries, artificial joints, tubing, and skin-to-skin contact. Although there is not one specific treatment of this disease, there are ways to test what antibiotics work best and sometimes antibiotics aren’t even necessary.
Currently it is resistant to, or rather unaffected by, commonly used antibiotics such as methicillin, amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and many others, and is consequently much more challenging to treat than most strains of staphylococcus aureus—or staph. Some antibiotics still work, but MRSA is constantly adapting, and researchers and developers are having a difficult time keeping up.
Carla, your post on community acquired MRSA infection, detection, and treatment of the condition is spot on. We all walk around with a variety of bacteria on our skin, especially healthcare workers. As healthcare professionals we are in constant contact with patients with various skin conditions including MRSA so it important to follow guidelines set by our institutions to limit the exposure to ourself and other patients. In addition, to the demographic that you mention in your post at risk for acquiring MRSA, younger non-exposed hospitalized patients are at risk as well.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that's become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. This can allow the infections to spread and sometimes become life-threatening. MRSA infections may affect your bloodstream, lungs, heart, bones, and joints. Most MRSA infections occur in people who've been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. When it occurs in these settings, it's known as health care-associated MRSA. HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints. Another type of MRSA infection has occurred in
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus also referred to as MRSA is a type bacterium that becomes immune to many antibiotics used to treat even the most common infection. MRSA has become an issue in hospitals around the globe as it is known to constanly change over time. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) usually occurs in day care home, hospitals and other related health care facilities. It was reported that in 2005 the majority of all infection related cases came from an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, resulting in a high rate of death (Tacconelli, et al 2007). In 1961 (Enright, et al 2002) methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) was first discovered in the United Kingdom and later made its way to Asia and after to the United States.
Necrotizing fasciitis Staphylococcus auerus can occur in many forms, one being methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus auerus (MRSA). This specific strand of bacterium that has evolved to become antibiotic resistant. This makes MRSA necrotizing fasciitis almost impossible to treat with antibiotics alone, and often requires extensive surgical procedures. In The New England Journal of Medicine, researchers highlighted MRSA as a root cause of numerous cases of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis reported in Los Angeles in 2003 (7).
MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and was founded in the 1960’s. It was not recognized until the 1990’s when there was a breakout in the hospitals. Healthcare professionals became frightened of this “Super-Bug” mainly because of the spread from one person to another. It became uncontrollable and staff were not aware of how to prevent the spread and treat the patients. It was then that the hospitals and nursing homes developed infection control measures in order to control and prevent further spread of MRSA.
My organization is currently using targeted MRSA surveillance of only those patients who meet the predetermined criteria such as screening those patients who are from the nursing home, ICU patients, and patients who have a history of MRSA. The practice of universal MRSA surveillance presents a great opportunity for decreasing the incidence and risk of MRSA transmission and hospital acquired infection. It is a great tool to improve and implement measures designed at providing a higher quality of care and improving patients’ outcome. I believe that these types of evidence should prompt hospitals or healthcare organizations to take the opportunity and take advantage of the data that was gathered to utilize the use of universal MRSA screening.
The occurrence of hospital acquired infections has become a norm in the health care system. Patients’ experiences of being infected with MRSA at a hospital and subsequently isolated follows 6 patients in their experiences after becoming infected with methicillin- resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in an outbreak in Sweden. MRSA this is a staphylococcus bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics such as penicillin, which was traditionally used to treat it (Vyas, 2015).
Step ONE: There are several diseases that will put a healthcare provider at risk. Healthcare providers are often worried of getting dirty needle sticks and contracting a disease such as Hepatitis or HIV. Not only are Health care providers are being precautious towards dirty needle sticks, but are also precautious towards staph bacteria such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Patients who have MRSA are resistant to different antibiotics in which cause health problems. MRSA affects healthcare providers and anyone who comes in direct contact with the infected person or anyone who touches items with the bacteria that causes staph. It is mainly a skin infection but it could also affect the lungs, blood, heart, bones or joints.
• Community-associated MRSA infections are usually skin infections, but they may cause other severe illnesses, such as:
In the clinical trial conducted by Jorge Cepeda (2005), infective disease control professor at the University College London Hospitals, another MRSA inhibition technique was investigated. Isolating MRSA colonized patients was the technique Cepeda and his team studied. The prospective trial was conducted in two general medical-surgical intensive-care units of two American teaching hospitals for 1 year (Cepeda, 2005, p. 295). All 21,840 entering patients were swabbed and tested for MRSA, and MRSA-positive patients were moved to a single cohort isolation room. While a patient was in the isolation room, policies for hygiene remained constant. 6 months into the study the practice of isolation was abandoned, and the rates of MRSA infection were once again recorded. The crude (unadjusted) Cox proportional-hazards model showed evidence of increased transmission during the latter non-isolation phase in both hospitals (Cepeda, 2005, p. 296). The evidence represented up to a 62.2% decrease in the proportional-infection transmission rates when isolation was used (Cepeda, 2005, p.295). Cepeda then concluded, “Moving MRSA-positive patients into single rooms or cohorted
Infection control is very important in the health care profession. Health care professionals, who do not practice proper infection control, allow themselves to become susceptible to a number of infections. Among the most dreaded of these infections are: hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Another infection which has more recently increased in prevalence is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). These infections are all treated differently. Each infection has its own symptoms, classifications, and incubation periods. These infections are transmitted in very similar fashions, but they do not all target the same population.
The 4 studies that are using screening methods all show a decline in MRSA transmission. The study in Japanese hospital (Juntendo University Hospital), AC-S was performed on 179 (first phase) and 255 (second phase) patients who had a history of MRSA carriage in the past 5 years. The percentage of MRSA positive patients in phase 1 was 38.0% (68 of 179) and this increased in the second phase to 54.5% (128 of 235) with P<0.001. The average monthly transmission rate of MRSA decreased from 0.35 per 1000 bed-days in phase 1 0.26 in phase 2 (P<0.05). The average monthly use AHR also increased from 10,308 ml in phase 1 to 12,894 ml in phase 2 (Ohkushi et al., 2013). Another study in Tokyo Medical and Dental University hospital, also based in Japan