MRSA Infections Both In and Out of the Hospital

MRSA infection is most prevalent infection among hospitalized persons, although the number of out-of-hospital infections is increasing, an infection known as Community Associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). CA-MRSA infections are generally less severe and tend to manifest as pimples or boils on the skin. A MRSA infection can be a scary experience. It’s can also be a lonely one as your infectious status can leave you feeling like a leper in society. This infection is most commonly found in hospitals, and is more likely to occur in patients that have weakened immune systems, as in cases with cystic fibrosis patients. Perfectly healthy people can also have it and may present with infections of the skin, nose, urinary tract or respiratory tract.

MRSA infection is not spread by mosquitoes, bedbugs or other insects as is popularly and incorrectly believed. The skin infections often look like spider bites at the beginning, but it is not spread by spiders. The bacteria in this disease are transmitted via direct or indirect contact, however, we do not know for sure how MRSA enters the hospital, colonizes staff and patients and causes disease. It is caused by Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria — often called "staph". Many years ago, a strain of staph emerged in hospitals that was resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. Dubbed Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), it has been called a "superbug" by the media because of its multiple drug resistance.

Hospital teams have expanded traditional boundaries by reaching out to everyone involved with patients to uncover existing practices that yield better results and rapidly create new ideas to stop MRSA transmissions. This inclusive, action-oriented approach is leading to rapid and widespread changes in practice and culture. Hospitals are fighting back by instituting surveillance systems that track bacterial outbreaks and by investing in products such as antibiotic-coated catheters and gloves that release disinfectants. Still, the best way to prevent the spread of germs is for health care workers to wash their hands frequently, to properly disinfect hospital surfaces and to take other precautions such as wearing a mask when working with people with weakened immune systems. Hospital staff that does not follow proper sanitary procedures may transfer bacteria from patient to patient. Visitors to patients with MRSA infections or MRSA colonization are advised to follow hospital isolation protocol by using the provided gloves, gowns, and masks if indicated.