The Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcus

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a spherical bacteria which is known to produce a cytotoxin called Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PLV) which destroys leukocytes, and kills tissue (Lina et al., 1999). Five percent of strains of Staphylococcus are known to produce the disease-causing toxin (Lina et al., 1999), but though the amount of PLV-producing strains is somewhat small, the strains which produce PLV are apparently resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic commonly used to treat staph infections (CDC, 2002). The first recorded case of S. aureus resistance to vancomycin was a reduction in sensitivity to the antibiotic observed in Japan, and has since spread to the United States (CDC, 2002). The most common source of infection of these drug-resistant bacteria are actually in hospitals, wherein the patients are exposed to the bacteria and subsequently infected (CDC, 2002).

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains often occur in epidemic waves initiated by one or a few successful clones. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) is prominently featured during these epidemics. Historically associated with hospitals and other healthcare settings, MRSA now has emerged as a widespread cause of community infections. The majority of Staphylococcus aureus strains are now resistant to penicillin and methicillin (MRSA). Golden staph is creating headlines across the world, the superbug is becoming unstoppable. According to government statistics “one in five cases were resistant to antibiotics” (Alexander, 2017). Scientist are trying to eradicate golden staph with antibiotics, however they are adapting rapidly. Scientists are yet to identify how exactly the bacteria keeps adapting. Antibiotics attack infections by meddling with the bacterial ribosome, which is the part of the cell that makes proteins. If a cell cannot make protein, it dies. “The way the antibiotic works is it throws a spanner in the works. The drug comes in and jams up the machine so the cell can't make protein anymore. “Antibiotic-resistant bacteria find a way to apply oil and restart the machined Belousoff's team compared the cell structure of resistant and non-resistant strains of golden staph under an electron microscope to learn that the latter infections had developed a mutation several

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)

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.

By the 1950s about 60% of staph infections were immune to Penicillin, which was the first antibiotic used to treat the infection (Pray). Due to this a

wall and how antibiotics work. The cell wall is designed to maintain the cell’s shape and

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is a strain of staph bacteria which has developed resistance to the antibiotics designed to treat common staph infections (Winterstein, 2009, p.189). Originally viewed as a hospital pathogen, MRSA has now begun to appear in the community. Hence, the infection is now distinguished by its origin, defined as hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA), or community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). The close proximity of athletes, who often share soap, towels, and other items commonly used in the dressing room, as well as the vigorous physical contact involved in sporting activity (both practice and competition), have led to MRSA becoming a concern in athletics. MRSA is a concern because it can lead to severe infection and even morbidity (Indeed, athletes have become a target population for MRSA. A recent study of 377 varsity college athletes at Vanderbilt University confirms that those involved in contact sports were more than twice as likely to carry MRSA (Jiminez-Truque, 2014). It is believed that the higher prevalence of MRSA in contact sports is a result of the increased skin-to-skin contact which can lead to abrasions and cuts, which permit the superbug to enter the body and colonize it (Jiminez-Truque, 2014). Treatment of MRSA involves draining of abscesses, combined with administration of powerful antibiotics, usually intravenously (Winterstein, 2009, p.187). Since MRSA is resistant to the antibiotics developed to treat it

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).

Staphylococcus aureus is a gram positive cocci that forms grape like clusters, produces catalase, has a peptidoglycan and teichoic acid cell wall, and has a G + C content of DNA ranging from 30-40 mol%. An estimated 20% of the human population is long-term carriers of S. aureus, appearing in the nares of the nasal passages and also part of the natural skin flora which is the most common species of Staphylococcus to cause Staph infections. S. aureus is a successful pathogen due to a combination of nasal carriage and bacterial immuno-evasive strategies. S. aureus can cause minor skin infections, pimples, impetigo, boils or furuncles, cellulitis, folliculitis, carbuncles, scalded skin syndrome, and abscesses. Life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome, bacteremia, and sepsis are also caused by pathenogenic S. aureus. Its extent ranges from skin, soft tissue, respiratory, bone, joint, and endovascular to wound infections. Nosocomial infections and often postsurgical wound infections are a commonly caused by S. aureus. S. aureus is also a prominent cause of food poisoning in the US, and can be transmitted by different foods, including milk and

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

According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) was first discovered in the 1880s. The S. Aureus infection caused pain on site, boils, and scaled skin. The S. Aureus infection can cause bacterial pneumonia or bacteria in the blood stream which can have fatal effects. In the 1940s the use of the antibiotics such as penicillin became a routine treatment for the infection. The consistent treatment using antibiotics lead to the bacteria evolving and becoming resistant to the drugs that were fighting the bacteria. In the late 1950s scientist developed methicillin, which is a form of penicillin,

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)

When Penicillin was first introduced in the early 1940’s to treat bacterial infection, resistance strains of Staphylococcus Aureus were completely unidentified. However, only a decade later, the disease was already becoming very common in hospital environments. Because of this, Methicillin was introduced in 1961 to medicate these resistance strains, yet within a single year, doctors were already encountering Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus

I enjoyed your post; thanks for sharing. My grandmother was a believer in home remedies, and she instilled in me the belief as well. As a young child, I suffered asthma. My grandmother would mix up her concoction of Jack Daniels liquor, honey, and coffee, and had me drink it before I went to bed. It did curtail the cough and improve breathing almost immediately. She was also a Mercurochrome fanatic, so any injury was treated promptly. I have got to say that none of us children experienced a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection (MRSA). I believe the treatment was effective. Until this assignment, I never thought of all of the home remedies that I use, because using them is just instinct. I believe that people should