Community Aquired MRSA

CA-MRSA (for community-acquired, or community-associated Staphylococcus aureus) ha been on the rise for years in many communities and is now cause for much concern. The thing is, mrsa is somewhat expected from anyone admitted to a hospital or wvwn works in one. Estimates today in the U.S. is that 10% of all mrsa infection are community acquired. This causes nasty skin and soft tissue infections in persons that are otherwise healthy and were not recently hospitalized or have been through some sort of invasive surgery One out of every five cases is due to hospitalization. CA-MRSA has been displaying rapid growth in specific populations, including prisoners, athletes, children, homosexuals, military recruits, Pacific Islanders, Alaskan Natives and Native Americans.

Treating MRSA.

Treatment of CA-MRSA skin infections is not the easiest thing to do. Skin ointments containing antibiotics, such as mupirocin or fusidic acid, can be used, but watch out. Mrsa has shown great resilience in its adaptation and resistance to these antibiotics. Beta-lactam antibiotics (i.e., methicillin and oxacillin), commonly used for staph aureus infections (such as furuncles, abscesses, and cellulitis), are a waste of time. The strange thing is that hospital MRSA, has built up a resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics, (including macrolides, aminoglycosides, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines and lincosamides), CA-MRSA on the other hand, is still treatable by a few antibiotic classes outside of the beta-lactam group (e.g., clindamycin).

Prevention.

Inspection spreads through close, skin-to-skin contact (such as that found in contact sports), through contact with open skin wounds (cuts, abrasions) and through contact with contaminated items or surfaces. ( staph can survive for for over 24 hours). Here's the worst part, the organisms regular enter healthy, intact skin. Congested living conditions and poor hygienic practices are the main factors that contribute greatly to the spread of this organism. At this time the only available way of preventing this infection is by doing the following:

Diligent hygiene practices that includes regular hand washing

Careful wound maintenance, and proper disposal of possibly contaminated bandages

Limit the use of razors, brushes etc to yourself. Public exercise equipment should be wiped down before and after use

Do not wait t0 get MRSA and have to do it the expensive way. Prevent it naturally.