What
is MRSA?
MRSA, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, is a strain of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that has become resistant and in an increasing number of cases immune to antibiotics even Vancomycin and Teicoplanin. MRSA can be difficult to treat and often requires long stays in hospital. MRSA infections can cause serious health problems including blood poisoning and infection of the lungs, bones or the heart valve. MRSA can lead to death especially in the young or elderly. Where an MRSA infection has taken hold of a wound, for example a leg wound or ulcer it can lead to amputation to save the patients life.
How
is MRSA caught?
MRSA can be transferred simply by touch, when MRSA is outside the body the patient is generally unharmed, the main threat of MRSA is when the bacterium gets inside the body, because this is when infection is caused. The easiest ways for MRSA to get into the body is through wounds or surgical scars, via a catheter into the urinary bladder. Through a drain from an operation site and even through feed tubes like nasogastric or PEG. As many cases of MRSA are caught in hospitals people are advised to be extra careful if they are unfortunate enough to have to go to hospital. MRSA is now also in the community at large.
Can
MRSA be treated?
Once diagnosed with MRSA, some patients are put on a long course of antibiotics, which are often ineffective, two of the last remaining effective antibiotics have to be given intravenously, and unfortunately an ever increasing number of the MRSA bacterium is becoming resistant to these as well. These strong antibiotics can have severe side effect which force the patient to be hospitalised for some time as the course of antibiotics can last for several weeks and even months before the patient begins to improve. Most people that are admitted to hospital and catch MRSA are often already very ill and are therefore unable to fight this infection for the length of time required, coupling that with the fact that the MRSA bacterium seems to be getting stronger all the time and there seems to be an exponential growth in the number of reported deaths due to MRSA the situation has looked bleak up to now. Fortunately the way MGOFO reacts with the bacteria and oxidizes it, the MRSA and other pathogens cannot develop a resistance to this and we hope it can only be a matter of time before the authorities all encompass this and get all so called Hospital Acquired Infections under control.
As there is a lot of information and support groups with help and advice on MRSA it has been decided to keep this information brief but please contact us if you have further questions.
If you or a loved one is diagnosed with the MRSA infection, give us a call to speak to one of our Doctors. |