Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
What is MRSA?
MRSA staph infections occur most frequently among persons in hospitals and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have weakened immune systems.
MRSA infections that occur in otherwise healthy people who have not been recently hospitalized nor had a recent medical procedure are known as community-associated MRSA infections. These infections are usually skin infections, such as abscesses, boils, and other pus-filled lesions
Serious MRSA disease is predominantly related to exposures to healthcare delivery:
- About 85% of all invasive MRSA infections were associated with healthcare, and of those, about two-thirds occurred outside of the hospital, while about one third occurred during hospitalization.
- About 14% of all the infections occurred in persons without obvious exposures to healthcare.
How common is MRSA?
The estimated number of people developing a serious MRSA infection in 2005 was about 94,360. Approximately 18,650 persons died during a hospital stay related to these serious MRSA infections.
How is MRSA prevented?
Basic infection control practices are key to the prevention and control of MRSA in healthcare settings. These practices include hand hygiene, gloving, mouth, nose and eye protection. There are additional steps that are taken to maintain sanitary conditions related to gowning, handling of equipment, and handling of laundry.
What is being done about MRSA?
There are a number of activities on the national level to collect and analyze data about MRSA, fund and support prevention efforts, study the trends of the disease, and control outbreaks of MRSA with laboratory support. |
