What are MRSA, community-associated MRSA, and healthcare-associated MRSA?
In the 1960s some Staph gained resistance to an antibiotic, a type of medicine used to treat infections, called methicillin. “Resistance” means that an antibiotic no longer works against the bacteria. Resistant Staph are now called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or “MRSA” (pronounced MER-SAH). As with ordinary Staph, some people carry MRSA on their skin without developing infections. Also, MRSA may also cause the same kinds of infection as ordinary Staph does. The main difference is that MRSA should be treated with different kinds of antibiotics than ordinary Staph. Until the late 1990’s, MRSA infections were mostly seen in people who had been in hospitals and other healthcare settings. That type of MRSA is called healthcare or hospital-associated-MRSA, or HA-MRSA. HA-MRSA is still an important problem. It is difficult to treat (often requiring intravenous antibiotics), often affects people who are ill with other diseases, and usually causes more serious infections. Recen
