Medical Case Study: MRSA

You should always make sure that you wash your hands so that infections like MRSA do not spread.

Touching objects, such as public phones or doorknobs, that have MRSA bacteria on the surface.

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.

Describe methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its implications for patients who are diagnosed with this.

Staph are common bacteria that are denizens of the human body. It is perfectly fine to carry staph; a lot of healthy people hold it within their bodies without being infected by it. Furthermore, one third of the population has staph bacteria in their noses. However, staph can rapidly become quite a problem if it manages to enter the body, usually through a cut, and cause an infection. Staph is one of the most popular causes of skin infections in the U.S. Most infections are minor, not fatal, and don’t require special treatment, but some can be disastrously life-threatening, creating festering wounds or pneumonia.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a bacterium that is resistant to many available high- level beta-lactam antibiotics, which include penicillins, “antistaphylococcal” penicillins and cephalosporins. Staphyloccoci are the most important bacteria that cause disease in humans. MRSA is sometimes branded as a nosocomial infection as it usually plagues patients that are receiving treatment in a hospital. The skin is the most common site of infection, where MRSA can cause cellulitis, folliculitis, or boils in the skin, but can also commonly be found in the nose, underarm, groin, upper respiratory tract, intestine, vagina and rectal areas of the body. MRSA infections occur with there is a break in the skin that allows the Methicillin resistant

Hand hygiene has been stated as the one main element that can prevent the spread of MRSA (Gould 2002). Washing hands is not kid’s stuff – not in the era of MRSA. Once entrenched MRSA can be extremely difficult to treat. If it gets into the blood stream it can be lethal (Belkum, Verbrugh 2001). Simor and Andrew (2001) also emphasise that hand washing is the most important control practice. It is essential because personal contact is the primary mode of MRSA transmission. Therefore good hand washing technique is vital to ensure that the decontamination is effective, as no soap will be effective if the technique is poor.

MRSA is a skin infection that can potentially lead to death if not properly treated. Symptoms include rash, headaches, body aches, chills, fever, extreme fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pains. The rash may appear as pimples or boils and can be quite painful. There are two types of MRSA. HA-MRSA is an infection that was contracted in a hospital or healthcare setting and CA-MRSA is an infection contracted by a healthy individual in the community. Often times, those who contract CA-MRSA have a fragile immune system, play sports that require contact to contact, live with health care professional, or live in contaminated environments. Student athletes are most at risk. They can catch infections from gyms and locker rooms that weren 't properly cleaned. If there is any suspicion of having the infection, one should go to their doctor to determine if it is a MRSA infection. The longer one waits the harder it will be to treat it.

Historically MRSA infections have been confined to hospitals and infected those that generally were very sick to begin with. In recent years, MRSA has started to become prevalent in healthy individuals; specifically those on high school and collegiate sports teams. Studies have shown that the rates among athletes tend to be higher in contact sports like football and wrestling (Buss, 2014). The rates also seem to be higher than in the past due to the lack of policy regarding the infections and lack of people following through on the policies in place (Fritz, 2012). MRSA can be prevented for student athletes, especially if those around them are committed to doing what they can to protect the health of the students.

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.

Both health care-associated and community-associated strains of MRSA still respond to certain antibiotics. In some cases, antibiotics may not be necessary. For example, doctors may drain a superficial abscess caused by MRSA rather than treat the infection with drugs. In the hospital, people who are infected or colonized with MRSA often are placed in contact precautions as a measure to prevent the spread of MRSA. Visitors and health care workers caring for people in isolation may be required to wear protective garments and must follow strict hand hygiene procedures. Contaminated surfaces and laundry items should be properly disinfected. Preventing MRSA includes careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 62 percent alcohol for times when you don't have access to soap and water. Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages until they heal. The pus from infected sores may contain MRSA, and keeping wounds covered will help prevent the bacteria from spreading. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, sheets, razors, clothing and athletic

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.

Staff with MRSA with skin disorders: Culture samples should be collected from the throat, nose, perineum and any skin disorders of the staffs on that day when the staff member is discovered as MRSA-positive (day 1). Additionally, treatment of carrier staff takes place on detecting as positive. Gathering of control cultures should have done on the 10th, 15th and 20th day. Employees with MRSA infections should follow the same procedures as they would for any infection. Excepting that, the employee underlie behind an outbreak, MRSA, by itself, should not be a reason for restricting work. Infected employees who are working should cover their wound and follow the normal precautions (WannetW; 2001). Employees with minor lesions should cover

The main hospital strains are already partially or fully resistant to the effects of commonly used antibiotics. Resistance is also emerging to last resort drugs like vancomycin. The more virulent community strains of MRSA are infiltrating hospitals while the more resistant hospital strain is leaking into the community. The history of MRSA as described in Superbug shows how quickly bacteria can evolve when we add a strong selective force like antibiotics. Around the world, species of bacteria are becoming “superbugs” that are resistant to conventional treatments. Pharmaceutical companies are cutting research on new antibiotics in favor of more profitable investments. We are quickly running out of options for treating multi-drug resistant bacteria. As we move toward a “post-antibiotic” world, there are valuable lessons to be found in the history of MRSA, one of the first superbugs. Students in Emerging Diseases should read Superbug to learn about the complex emergence of

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been a type of multidrug resistant organism and staph bacteria known to cause serious infection that can lead to long hospitalizations and death. It can begin as a simple infection on skin or in the lungs, and if left untreated, can lead to traveling to the bloodstream and causing sepsis (“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2015”). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 33 percent of individuals carry the staph bacteria intranasally and two percent of individuals carry MRSA (“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2015”). Even though this is a serious issue among healthcare settings all over the country, the number of people affected