Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is not a new bacterial problem.  Despite the recent media attention to extremely bad infections, we have had to deal with antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus (staph) since the 1950’s, soon after the introduction of penicillin.  So what makes MRSA so scary?  Let’s separate the facts from the media hyperbole.

After staph became resistant to penicillin, methicillin was created.  This antibiotic was the fallback drug, yet before long methicillin-resistance was encountered.  Initially this occurred in hospitalized patients, but a different genetic type of methicillin-resistant staph then developed in the general community.  Methicillin-resistance became the marker for multiple-drug resistant staph, and in the last few years it has become more common.  However, community acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is resistant to fewer antibiotics and is generally less aggressive then hospital acquired MRSA.  CA-MRSA creates the same general problems as non-resistant staph:  boils, infected hair follicles, surgical wound infections, and impetigo are common types of staph infections.   There are still commonly used antibiotics that will treat community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) well. 

So why the hysteria over CA-MRSA?  Well, it tends to infect young, healthy people like athletes, military personnel, and others who are in close contact with other people.  That would be the same group that is infected with any type of staph.  Rarely, the bacteria will cause a more serious infection, like pneumonia, infected heart valves, or a deep skin infection.  That too is the same as regular staph.  CA-MRSA is also mercifully rare.  In one study the incidence of CA-MRSA in an outpatient clinic was 7.5% of infections over 6 years.

Clearly any bacterial infection can be serious.  Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, died of streptococcal pneumonia in 1990.  Streptococcus generally causes a sore throat.  Mariana Bridi, a 20 year-old Brazilian model recently died of a Pseudomonas infection, a bacteria that generally causes urinary tract infections.  Similarly, staph and CA-MRSA occasionally cause overwhelming infections. 

Luckily, CA-MRSA and other bacteria are easily removed by daily bathing and, important point here, hand washing.  If you or someone you know develops CA-MRSA or regular staph, there is no need to panic, but pay attention to things like a fever, increasing pain and redness in a skin infection, or signs of other organ systems becoming infected.  There is no need to close schools or businesses, but good hygiene is important.