MRSA Information

MRSA Facts

Whenever the possibility of a new nasty bug hits the media, hype gets piled on hype and you would think we were all going to die in the next five minutes. MRSA is one such bug that the media has gone nuts on. It is a nasty bug, but lets try to stick to the facts we know about MRSA instead of the hype. So, just what are the facts?

MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a form of a staph infection. The two initial words of that title are the important ones. Methicillin-resistant means that this is a form of staph infection that is not cured by methicillin-based antibiotics. It means that penicillin, amoxicillin and similar drugs do not kill the MRSA bug. MRSA seems like a recent scare, but it is not. Although the media has only taken an interest in the last few years, MRSA has been around for decades.

It first appeared in hospitals and nursing homes where it was able to gain traction with patients that had poor immune systems and natural defenses. More recently, it has been making news via incidents with professional players and via appearing in school gyms and locker rooms.

MRSA is a severely misunderstood bug. A huge number of us have the staph bacteria. The microscopic bug can be found on our skin or in our noses. As much as one third of the population may be carrying it. So, why haven't we had a tragic epidemic? Well, the bug only is dangerous if it enters the body. This is why it is a big threat during surgery and if you get any wounds.

How did MRSA come to be? There is no exact answer and it is a controversial subject. In the view of some, it is a resistant strain that developed as a result of doctors over prescribing antibiotics for just about any and all health problems people had. An opposite view is it is just part of the natural development of things and would have happened regardless of the prescribing tendency of physicians.