The Symptoms Of Mrsa

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); it is a bacterial infection that is resistant to antibiotics, it is also known as multidrug resistant (because it resists from many drugs that are used against it) [1]. Staphylococcus aureus is a common species of bacterium found in certain areas like skin (hair follicles) and nasal mucous membrane but is usually harmless at these sites. It can result in infections causing pimples, sepsis (infection of the blood), abscesses, boils (furnicles) and minor skin infections. More serious problems include pneumonia, meningitis, food poisoning and heart disease. MRSA outbreaks have growing since the 1960s up until the 2000s, in the USA the MRSA death toll exceeds the death of AIDS, hepatitis B and tuberculosis.

How MRSA reproduce?

MRSA is commonly described as a 'superbug' because the species of resistant bacteria include strains of bacteria that have the ability to spread, inhabit a host and cause disease. An outbreak of infection can occur when a bacterium, fungus or virus is transmitted to vulnerable hosts; people who have weak immune systems, or if a person has an open wound this will causes them to have this disease. The bacteria reproduce by binary fission, in which the DNA of the cell replicates, and attaches itself onto the cell membrane, which separate the DNA molecules from each other. The bacteria will double in size, and then form a cell wall, to form two new bacteria, which are the same. These bacteria carry genes encoding penicillinase (Beta-lactamase), these enzymes break down penicillin and prevent it from killing the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, and they can do this because they have the ability to modify their DNA by mutation or by acquisition of DNA from other bacteria. Outbreaks of MRSA can be a small scale like an epidemic (a disease affecting many people at the same time) or even at a large scale like a pandemic (an epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population).

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/SiteCollectionImages/topics/antimicrobialresistance/1whatIsDrugResistance.gifhttp://www.hotelmule.com/management/attachments/2010/10/26_201010080649546JMrk.gif

How to prevent MRSA?

The ways to stop the infection from spreading is to have good hygiene, around hospitals, where they are most likely to have MRSA, anyone going into a hospitals are cautioned to take sensible precautions. These usually involve cleansing your hands very often; even if you are a visitor you must clean your hands before and after visiting. Patients are advised to ask staff to make sure they have cleaned their hands, before they come in contact in with you. Hospitals usually have a lot of alcohol based gels(more effective at killing microorganisms than soaps) to clean your hands, staffs are required to maintain high standards of hygiene and wear disposable gloves when they are in contact with open wounds. Other ways hospitals prevent MRSA spreading include: keeping the hospital as clean and dry as possible, including floors, toilets and beds. Patients should avoid sharing books/magazines, and should avoid contact with other patients, especially if they have an open wound. They will isolate patients with an identified or suspected MRSA infection and limit the transferring to other patients/visitors.

MRSA Screening

MRSA Screening is another way to stop MRSA from spreading on you and for others, this is when many people have MRSA on their skin or their nose, the NHS hospitals use a simple treatment to get rid of as much of the bacteria as much as possible, if there are bacteria left over, this is the resistive bacteria which leads to MRSA. The fewer amounts of bacteria left over the smaller chance of you getting MRSA or you passing it on to another human. The nurses will take swabs (cotton buds), blood pressure and blood tests. The swab is taken on your nose, in your nose, your armpits and your groin, these swabs are sent to laboratories to get results from them in three to five days. If you are carrying MRSA, the hospital will you as soon as possible, there will be an operation to remove the MRSA. The operation will not at happen straight away, you may treated for the MRSA, to prevent you from getting ill. The treatment patients will be getting is a nurse washing the place of infection with an antibacterial wash and a special cream.

Arguments for going to the hospital during outbreaks of MRSA

From 2005 to 2008, the rate of MRSA infections dropped by almost 28% among hospitalized patients and 17% among people who were not hospitalized but acquired the infection following medical procedures like dialysis, across nine metropolitan areas in the United States of America.

87.4 % of 4134 deaths involving MRSA occurred in NHS hospitals in England and Wales. This represents 0.3 per cent of all deaths that occurred in NHS hospitals respectively. In 2007, MRSA caused 1,517 deaths, in 2008 MRSA caused 1,137 deaths, in 2009 MRSA caused 718 deaths, in 2010 MRSA caused 437 deaths, in 2011 MRSA caused 325 deaths.

At this NHS hospital in Croydon, the general trend of this graph is decreasing, year by year, patients and staffs have been warned about hygiene and its link with MRSA.MRSA-2011

Arguments against going to the hospital during outbreaks of MRSA

Researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) estimate hospitalisations increased from about 21 out of every 1,000 patients hospitalised in 2003 to about 42 out of every 1,000 in 2008, or almost 1 in 20 inpatients.

If you have a weak immune system you are likely to be infected with MRSA.

If you also have an open wound/cut you are likely to be infected with MRSA.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2005, there were estimated 94,360 MRSA infections (invasive) in the US with approx. 18,650 deaths.

87.4 % of 4134 deaths involving MRSA occurred in NHS hospitals in England and Wales between 2007-2011.

Reports of blood-stream infections (from Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency) caused by MRSA have increased from 7,384 in 2002/03 to 7,647 in 2003/04. This represents a 3.6% increase during the last year.

Conclusion

From the evidence I have up until around 2005, MRSA death cases were continuously rising, as the safety issues weren’t addressed properly. Since 2005 to present day, the MRSA death cases steadily decreased as new, hygienic NHS hospital rules were put into place. Generally most graphs are decreasing since 2005. In 2007-2011 only 0.3% all deaths in England and Wales are by MRSA. My opinion is that it is safe nowadays to enter in hospitals, without getting MRSA , as the number of cases/deaths are decreasing annually because hospitals are extra careful with their hygiene, but if you are infected with MRSA in the hospital, there is a 80% chance of dying, also if you have an open wound and a weak immune system bacteria are more likely to form in those places.

The NHS in general are now using high technology cleaning equipment and strict hygiene guidelines as stated above, to prevent MRSA.http://www.cddep.org/sites/cddep.org/files/ETCfig1-4.gif

These high rates are showing that in these countries, higher levels of antibiotics are used to treat the bacterium.

Better surveillance, early diagnosis and education of patients and hospital staff are all required to prevent transmission of MRSA. Perhaps the most important finding from this study is the high level of anxiety that MRSA infection would provoke amongst patients. These emotions need to be recognized so that patient concerns about nosocomial infection can be addressed in future health initiatives.

Sally MA Hamour, Austin O’Bichere, John L Peters, Peter J McDonald

Department of Surgery, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, UK