Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

September 11, 2014 | Technology Forecasts

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacteria that is resistant to first-line beta-lactam antibiotics that usually cure staphylococcus ("staph") infections.1,2 Between 25% and 35% of people are colonized with S. aureus in the nose, but fewer than 2% are colonized with MRSA.2 Most staph bacteria are spread by skin-to-skin touching. Once it enters the body, it can spread to the bones, joints, blood, or other organs. Most MRSA infections are skin infections, with the most severe and life-threatening MRSA infections occurring in healthcare settings; however, MRSA infections can also occur in healthy people outside health care settings.1 MRSA-infection categorizations are based on the setting where the infection was acquired, such as community-associated MRSA or healthcare-associated MRSA.3

From 2003 through 2004, an estimated 4.1 million people in the United States were colonized with MRSA. In 2005, about 278,000 hospitalizations were related to MRSA infection.4 From 2005 through 2008 in the United States, invasive MRSA infections beginning in hospital settings decreased by 28% and invasive MRSA infections before hospital admission dropped 17%. MRSA bloodstream infections occurring in hospitals...

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