Does every child with MRSA get ill?
Most children carrying S. aureus (MRSA or not) in their nose or on their skin will never suffer any harm from doing so. In a minority of children, whether in hospital or not, it can cause problems ranging from boils to serious illness. There is more opportunity for the organism to cause trouble in hospital because children’s resistance may be weaker due to another disease or drug treatment and also they are more likely to have broken skin because of surgery, lines and drips, etc. Children or adults can pass on the bug without having any ill effects themselves.
