MRSA Notes

Dear Doctor: How does MRSA spread?
Q. My son plays football and is in excellent health. Why did he get MRSA?

A. MRSA, or methicellin-resistant staph aureus, is a bacterial infection of the skin and underlying tissues that is becoming more and more common in perfectly healthy children and adolescents. As did other bacteria that developed resistance to amoxicillin and other common antibiotics, staph aureus strains affecting sick, hospitalized patients became highly resistant to traditional anti-staph drugs such as methicillin in the 1990s (hence, the name). The emergence in this decade of similarly resistant strains in the community has alarmed physicians who have seen quite innocent appearing pustules and “insect bites” rapidly progress to more serious deep tissue infections often requiring hospitalization. Oral drugs such as cephalexin (Keflex) and amoxicilin/pot clavulana (Augmentin), which had previously worked promptly, could not stem the worsening infections, which often needed surgical drainage to improve.

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