Methicillin-Resistant Mythoiccus Aureus (MRSA)

MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is one of the most recent superbugs to become a health problem. MRSA is a species of Staphylococcus Aureus that is resistant to the antibiotic methicillin and antibiotics like it. Doctors are struggling to find proper treatment because of its resistance to the beta-lactam ring, the core of most antibiotics. The most lethal strain is the CC398 strain, most commonly found on livestock. There are approximately 80,000 invasive MRSA infections and 11,000 deaths every year. (CNN.com)

Antibiotic resistance is when microorganisms, such as bacteria, are able to survive an exposure to antibiotics and these bacteria are now resistant to the effects of these antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been an issue since antibiotics were discovered. The fact that bacteria can become resistant to our medical treatments such as antibiotics is a natural evolutionary process, but there are certain human contributions that definitely speed up the process. For example, one of the main contributions that will be discussed is the problem of over prescription of the antibiotic drugs. The

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a drug resistant pathogen abundant in healthcare settings and the second most common overall cause of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) (Jernigan & Kallan, 2010). The prevalence of MRSA is a significant problem found amongst many Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the United States (US); critically ill patients are at higher risk for hospital-acquired infections. Acquisition and infection of MRSA may significantly prolong duration of hospital stays, increase healthcare costs, and contribute to higher mortality rates. According to national data, MRSA accounts for nearly 70 percent of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from

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.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureas (MRSA) is one of the most dangerous strains of Staphylococcus Aureas that causes life-threatening pneumonia, bloodstream infections and surgical site infections in medical facilities (CDC, 2015).

MRSA is short for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and can be potentially fatal due to the fact they are not responsive to main antibiotics. S. aureus is a bacterium and not a virus and the most pathogenic of the staphylococci. This infection is one of the first found to be resistant to strong antibiotics. Bacteria are unicellular microorganism, while a virus is a sub-microscopic particle that infects the cells of an organism causing serious skin infectious boils. This superbug is major health concern for the public. This paper will shed some light on the major symptoms MRSA presents, how it spreads, how to prevent it from spreading, and treatments.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections that are becoming increasingly difficult to treat because of emerging resistance to all current antibiotics. Infections are created by pathogens, or microbes that create diseases. There are different types of microbes including: bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Some microbes are beneficial to the human body, however, there are pathogens that are deadly and require antibiotics. Antibiotics are antimicrobials that were developed to destroy microbes. Penicillin, the first commercialized antibiotic, was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming.(Enright, Robinson, Randle, 2002) While it wasn’t distributed among the general public until 1945, it was widely used in World War II for surgical and wound infections among the Allied Forces. Methicillin was introduced in 1959 to treat infections caused by penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In 1961, there were reports from the United Kingdom of S. aureus isolates that had acquired resistance to methicillin (methicillin-resistant S. aureus, MRSA).(Enright, Robinson, Randle, 2002)

As mentioned above, bacteria can build resistance in those ways by changing their genetics a small amount. When they make more vitamins than necessary, it changes the genetics of the bacteria. Also, when they only allow molecules in a certain way, it is also changing their cell wall and genetics. When they let the antibiotic build up and then remove it altogether it is changing the genetics as well. They change their genetics and still carry out their functions in different ways.

Frequent antibiotic use over long periods of time puts selective pressure on bacteria, and causes resistance to spread. When an antibiotic is used to treat a typical bacterial infection, most bacteria are killed. Sometimes, however, a bacterium with an advantage lives. This bacterium can then reproduce and pass its advantage on, creating many more antibiotic resistant bacteria.​ Sometimes in medicine, antibiotics are used too often or incorrectly, which can cause resistance to spread faster than it would

Genetic change in a bacterium can have an effect in resistance. Most bacteria work by inactivating an essential bacterial protein. Genetic change can remove that protein and also mutations in the target protein can prevent the antibiotic from binding. Production of the antibiotics target enzyme can also be increased by genetic change meaning that there are too many and the antibiotics cannot inactivate them all. Not only

Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria are able to resist the effects of

aureus has a remarkable ability to develop antibiotic resistance, leading to four distinct resistance waves that have occurred in the past sixty years. The advent of PRSA, then MRSA resistance has resulted in a steady decline in the efficacy of these valuable antibiotics. The MRSA first emerged as a nosocomial pathogen (HA-MRSA; in the 1960s), then further surfaced as a community based infection (CA-MRSA; in the 1990s) and has subsequently increased the staphylococcal disease burden. It is a global public health problem and represents the most commonly identified antibiotic-resistant pathogen.

Take for example MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a S. aureus strain that was discovered in 1961 to be resistant to the antibiotic methicillin. Webmd indicates that MRSA has now grown its resistance from methicillin to “amoxicillin, penicillin, oxacillin and many other common antibiotics” (MRSA). This increase in resistance of a methicillin-resistant strain of S. aureus can be attributed to the increasing use and overuse of antibiotics, not only in the doctor’s office but also in agriculture. MRSA is only one of many antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. New resistant strains are evolving rapidly. According to Dr. Ed Warren, “there are high levels of antibiotic resistance in bacteria causing common infections (e.g. urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections) in all regions of the world” (21).

When bacteria are able to withstand the effects of the antibiotic, the bacteria is deemed to be antibiotic resistant. There are one or more systems in the bacterial cell that may cause this resistance. One may prevent the antibiotics from every entering the cell, another might destroy the antibiotic once it enters the cell, another system may inhibit the antibiotic activity within the cell, and yet another system may work by pumping the antibiotic out of the cell before it has been activated within the cell. It was a rare occurrence for bacterial cells to have even one of this systems, but now this is becoming more common. One reason this resistance is occurring has to do with the overprescribing and misuse of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is defined as, the effect of microbes transforming in ways that decrease or eliminate the efficiency of drugs, chemicals, and other agents that are used to cure or prevent infections. Because antibiotics have been used for so long to treat a wide variety of infectious organism, they have built up a