MRSA (Multiple-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

According to a publication from the CDC or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA has claimed the lives of 17,000 people in the USA alone, and only for the year 2005. It is estimated that the statistics will rise dramatically for the year 2008, with the possibility of infecting more than 150,000 patients in the country. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of the existence of MRSA, nor have the slightest inkling of how fatal this disease could become. One thing is assured though: this is a highly contagious disease with very limited treatment options.

What does MRSA stand for?

MRSA can either mean Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or Multiple-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. This is one microorganism that is resistant to most antibiotics like cephalosorins, dicloxacillin, methicillin, nafcillin, oxacillin and penicillin.

This is the reason why MRSA is so virulent. As of late, doctors and scientists have not yet found any medication or remedy that can quickly eradicate the “bug.” If a person’s immune system is at its peak form, MRSA may only be seen as a pimple or pustule on the skin or the nostril lining. The person may also experience flu-like symptoms and nothing more. In such cases, patients with mild cases can usually overcome MRSA easily.

Unfortunately, many people have weak or weakened immune systems. Once MRSA sets in, and goes undetected for as short as 2 days, there are greater chances that blood poisoning will set in, leading to organ failure, to septicemia (or infection of the entire body,) and eventually to death.

Are there different variants of MRSA?

There really are no so much as variants as strains of the MRSA bacteria. In the late 1990s, scientists in the UK have discovered that the Community Associated MRSA or CA-MRSA strain of the Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria is the one causing the most damage among MRSA sufferers. The name is derived from the supposition that the bacterial strain is transferred only within a small community of people who do not have access to hospital care. Unfortunately, the bacterium (like all living organism in this planet) soon evolved on its own, and by the next few years, doctors and scientists begun seeing a more highly specialized CA-MRSA strain that survives medical intervention. The evolved bacterium is now dubbed as the new CA-MRSA. As of late, the new CA-MRSA strain is the one being commonly seen in athletes, children sharing locker room showers, and in prison detainees.

Another strain of CA-MRSA is the HA-MRSA or the Health Care Associated MRSA strain. This one is usually cause by patients who seek hospital or hospice aid, and eventually contaminate other patients of the facility who have open sores or weakened immune systems. The HA-MRSA is often considered as a hybrid strain, strengthened by fact that it acquires a new host with a very weak immune system. This is more difficult to eradicate and can lead to more fatal complications like deep tissue infections, pneumonia and even death.

If you think that this is bad enough, some strains are now developing that is resistant to specific antibiotics. One or more antibiotics may work on a specific case, but this trial-and error method is causing delay in treatment, which further complicates the problem of treating the patients as soon as possible. These strains are: CRSA or Cephalosorins- Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus; DRSA or Dicloxacillin-Resistant; NRSA or Nafcillin-Resistant; and ORSA or Oxacillin-Resistant.