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Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) Sometimes pronounced "Mursa," or simply just called "staph," MRSA infections have gained increasing notoriety in recent years and many media outlets have dubbed it a "superbug." However, MRSA infections are not new and were originally discovered in 1961 in Great Britain. Since 1999 reported cases within the United States have risen dramatically, doubling in just a five-year period. MRSA is a Gram-positive bacteria resistant to many anti-biotics including beta-lactam anti-biotics like penicillin, methicillin, and cephalosporins. It can be transmitted through direct contact, or indirectly through objects, to uninfected people. While much has been made of MRSA acquired in hospitals, exposure can also occur outside of the hospital. Risk factors include, but are not limited to: crowded or unsanitary living spaces, contact sports, sharing towels, and scratches, abrasions, or punctures of the skin. It is important to note that symptoms of a MRSA infection (localized redness, swelling, pain, and puss collection under the skin with fever, chills, low blood pressure, weakness, and mental deterioration) can worsen even when treated by anti-biotics. MRSA In the News In locker rooms... http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Primetime/story?id=410908&page=1 ABC News - January, 2005 In infants... http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-05-10-superbugs-staphylococcus_x.htm USA Today - May, 2006 Six state outbreak... http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,303237,00.html Fox News - October, 2007 Spreading into nature... http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/93847.php Medical News Today - January, 2008 Mutation and studies http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/94681.php Medical News Today - January, 2008 http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/2008/04/08/alligator_blood_may_beat_mrsa/6665/
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