MRSA Notes

In a general, but fairly good article on MRSA today, MRSA: Superbug or False Alarm?, NBC Dallas compares the nations fear of the ebola virus from a few years ago with the real and present danger of MRSA, and proclaims that MRSA is indeed a superbug and one we need to watch:

In 1994, a bestseller titled “The Hot Zone” sparked national interest in “superbugs,” viruses and bacteria against which the human body is nearly defenseless and for which no effective treatment exist. In the book, the ebola virus was the threat, a so-called hemhorragic fever that killed a tremendous percentage of those infected in a horrific manner.

Ebola, however, remained an empty threat as far as the United States was concerned. While there are still outbreaks in Africa, the only strain of ebola to appear in the U.S., Ebola-Reston, is thus far dangerous only to monkeys.

Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a far different story. It is present in the general population, is more easily transmissible than ebola and can be found in common places and situations. While it is treatable, MRSA is a bona fide superbug that shows no inclination toward disappearing.

See the article for some general information about MRSA and infection prevention. Don’t miss the Mayo Clinic links at the bottom.

Awareness, Infection Prevention, MRSA, Superbugs, Texas

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