Staph Infections Research Paper

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

Some germs that commonly live on the skin and in the nose are called staphylococcus or "staph" bacteria. Usually staph bacteria don't cause any harm. However, sometimes they get inside the body through a break in the skin and cause an infection. These infections are usually treated with antibiotics. When common antibiotics don't kill the staph bacteria, it means the bacteria have become resistant to those antibiotics. This type of staph is called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus).

The Staphylococcus aureus bacteria belongs to the Staphylococcaceae family. It is small, round shaped, and non-motile. Staphylococcus aureus stains gram positive and can often be found in small clusters (Mandal, 2010). It often forms chains and is a large contributor of soft tissue infections. It is of a yellow color, hence the name ?aureus? which comes from the Latin term ?aurum? for gold (Orenstein, n.d.). Staphylococcus aureus is found in a few spots on the human body, such as the nasal passage, the skin, the oral cavity, and even the gastrointestinal tract. Staphylococci and Streptococci are two different strands of the bacteria and are very hard to distinguish from one another. In order to tell the difference between them, without a microscope, a catalase test needs to be performed. The test is undergone by adding 3% hydrogen peroxide to both samples. Since Staphylococci are catalase positive, meaning they produce catalase, they will produce O? while the Streptococci will not because Streptococci are catalase negative (Todar, n.d.).

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.

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections, it can cause serious infections such as bloodstream infection, pneumonia or bone infections. Though it can cause infections it is part of the normal human flora it is mostly found on the skin or in nasal cavities. It is a facultative anaerobic gram positive cocci, it is usually in pairs or clusters. The bacterium is also catalase positive, oxidase

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a gram positive bacteria, which means that there is a lot of peptidoglycan in its cell wall. Therefore, the antibiotics that target these types of bacteria will decrease the metabolism of the bacteria. When placed in an incubator overnight, the bacteria will grow colonies that are 1-2 millimeters in diameter (8). Over time, the bacteria might have been able to produce offspring that are resistant to some antibiotics, called mutations. These mutations make the antibiotic useless on the bacteria from then on and they were naturally selected because they were most fit for survival in the given conditions.

A) Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, also called “staph”, cause the infectious agent (pathogen) MRSA. MRSA or “mercer” stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This strain of staph is resistant to most antibiotics and can be fatal. MRSA Staph infections are caused by excessive antibiotic use, which has resulted from routine prescriptions for colds, flu, and viral infections that are unresponsive to these drugs. The antibiotics that are in

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive bacterium. It is accountable for numerous conditions when it crosses the threshold into the human body. The bacterium may also be referred to as a ‘Staph infection’. There are more than 28 different types of staphylococcus aureus that are responsible for cellulitis, blood poisoning, and various others. Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus is also a type of staphylococcus aureus. Staph infections are curable with different antibiotics.

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive coccal bacterium which is estimated to have colonised 20-30% of the human population.1,2,3 S. aureus is normally found in the anterior nares and mucous membranes of these individuals. For the majority, this is not a problem as these people are colonised, not infected.2,3 However S. aureus is an opportunistic pathogen and if it contaminates a breach in the skin or mucous membranes, it can go on to infect any tissue in the body.3 Infection may lead to serious life threatening diseases such as pneumonia.4 Over time strains of S. aureus were able to develop resistance to antibiotics, resulting in strains known as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The online article discusses the spread of diseases amongst students in close quarters with relation to a recent study on staph infections. General demographics give examples of how a disease such as staph can spread between students rapidly in their limited environment. A specific study on staph resistant to medicine references statistical data that implies real-life scenarios. Powers elaborates on the idea that staph infections on campuses are not a major concern, but a concern nonetheless as long as students live in a communal setting. The author implies at the end of the article that the most precedent concern with staph infections lay in better upkeep of hygiene facilities used by students as students in these environments are completely

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.

Healthcare associated infections are ranked as one of the top five causes of death in the United States (1). This is a very serious problem being that so many people go to hospitals to maybe have a surgery and get better and in return get a very serious infection that has been known to take limbs and even lives. There are many different hospital acquired or nosocomial infections, but the one that I am referring to is especially dangerous. The name of this infection is called Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, or more commonly known as MRSA.

The release of two exotoxins from certain strains of S. aureus can lead to Staphylococcal scaled skin syndrome (SSSS), which is characterized by blistering skin. Invasion into the body can lead to more serious health problems including pneumonia (a frequent complication of influenza), mastitis, phlebitis (inflammation of the veins), meningitis, and urinary tract infections. If the bacterium is allowed to colonize even deeper tissues more serious conditions such as osteomyelitis and endocarditis may result. The most serious consequences of these deeper tissue infections occur when the bacterium invades the bloodstream leading to septic shock and possibly death.

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

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.