Many of us have heard of the phrase MRSA, the Hospital Superbug, but what does MRSA means.
The full title is Methecillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.
Staphylococcus Aureus is a harmless bacterium that lives on the skin and nose of about a third of healthy people.
However if the bacterium enters the body, for example through cuts, surgical incisions, catheters and drip feeds it may be possible for disease to ensue.
To understand MRSA further we need to take a look at Antibiotic Resistance. Antibiotics have long been used as a treatment for many illnesses.
In the 1940’s Penicillin was used as an antibiotic agent to treat Staphylococcus Aureus, it was then discovered that certain strains of SA became resistant to penicillin.
Then in the 1960’s Methicillin a member of the antibiotic family was used as a treatment, and shortly after resistant strains (MRSA) documented.
In the 1970’s incidences decreased as new antibiotics introduced.
The following decade, the 80’s MRSA becomes more resistant and epidemic strains was reported in London.
Since, MRSA has become endemic in many UK hospitals, with thousands of deaths per year and many more recorded injuries.
So what does the future hold for hospital acquired infections such as MRSA and C Diff? We shall have to wait and see.