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MRSA
MRSA stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a common type of bacteria that can live harmlessly on the skin but sometimes it can cause a number of common infections such as boils, impetigo and wound infections.
Methicillin (a type of penicillin) is an antibiotic drug.
MRSA includes several strains (types) of the SA germ that are not killed by the usual antibiotics. Antibiotics have been very successful in killing many germs. However, germs that are not killed by antibiotics have survived and multiplied. If you are on a course of antibiotics but do not complete it, it is likely that not all the germs will be killed, and then those that survive will develop a resistance to the drug. As more antibiotics are used, more strains of germs that are able to resist them have developed. Around 40% of cases of SA in the UK are resistant to methicillin and other antibiotics. These are the ones called MRSA. These types of SA tend to be more common in hospital, because people are more susceptible to infections when they are already unwell.
Antibiotics aren’t completely powerless against MRSA. The infection may simply require a much higher dose over a much longer period, or the use of an alternative antibiotic to which the germ has less resistance. The long-term risk of SA is the chance that it may become resistant to all antibiotic drugs. For this reason it is important that antibiotics are only used when necessary and the full course of a drug is taken when it has been prescribed.