Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Breast milk protein complex helps reverse antibiotic resistance

A protein complex found in human breast milk can help reverse the antibiotic resistance of bacterial species that cause dangerous pneumonia and staph infections, according to new University at Buffalo research.

Medical research created May 01, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Relative proportion of MRSA increasing in S. aureus isolates

(HealthDay)—The relative proportion of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is increasing in S. aureus isolates, and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) is becoming increasingly resista ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 18, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists use nature against nature to develop an antibiotic with reduced resistance

A new broad range antibiotic, developed jointly by scientists at The Rockefeller University and Astex Pharmaceuticals, has been found to kill a wide range of bacteria, including drug-resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA) bacter ...

Medications created Apr 10, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Copper surfaces reduce the rate of health care-acquired infections

Placement of copper objects in intensive care unit (ICU) hospital rooms reduced the number of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) in patients by more than half, according to a new study published in the ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Apr 09, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

MRSA colonization in groin tied to clinical infections

(HealthDay)—Groin colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) leads to an increased risk of developing active MRSA infection later among HIV-infected patients, according to a stud ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 26, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sequencing tracks animal-to-human transmission of bacterial pathogens

Researchers have used whole genome sequencing to reveal if drug-resistant bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans in two disease outbreaks that occurred on different farms in Denmark. The results, which are published ...

Genetics created Mar 25, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Drug-resistant MRSA bacteria: Here to stay in both hospital, community

(Medical Xpress)—The drug-resistant bacteria known as MRSA, once confined to hospitals but now widespread in communities, will likely continue to exist in both settings as separate strains, according to ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 15, 2013 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Bacteria and the bees: Antibiotics work better with honey

Medical-grade manuka honey (Medihoney), when used together with antibiotics, can both improve the effectiveness of the antibiotics and can prevent the emergence of resistance, according to new findings by ...

Medications created Mar 05, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Strains of antibiotic-resistant 'Staph' bacteria show seasonal preference: Children at higher risk in summer

Strains of potentially deadly, antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria show seasonal infection preferences, putting children at greater risk in summer and seniors at greater risk in winter, according to result ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 28, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Regenstrief study: Informatics tools underutilized in prevention of hospital-acquired infection

Advances in electronic medical record systems and health information exchange are shifting efforts in public health toward greater use of information systems to automate disease surveillance, but a study from the Regenstrief ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

March of the superbugs

Every so often, research laboratories and hospitals testing patients for the superbug methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have come across an oddity: a strain that appeared to be MRSA because ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 14, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Newer, shorter-course antibiotic shows similar effectiveness for treating skin infection

Treatment with a newer antibiotic, tedizolid phosphate, once daily for 6 days was statistically noninferior (no worse than) in efficacy to the antibiotic linezolid twice daily for 10 days for both early (at day 2 to 3) and ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 12, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

High prevalence of drug-resistant MRSA found in nursing homes

While most infection control measures are focused on hospitals, a new study points to the need for more targeted interventions to prevent the spread of drug-resistant bugs in nursing homes as community-associated strains ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 11, 2013 | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

In hospitals, daily antiseptic bath may prevent dangerous infections

(HealthDay)—A daily swabbing with a simple antiseptic greatly decreases the number of life-threatening bloodstream infections and drug-resistant bacteria lurking among patients in acute-care hospital units, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Expert warning: Resistance to antibiotics to be apocalyptic

(Medical Xpress)—The chief medical officer for Britain's Department of Health has issued a warning that resistance to bacteria is a more urgent threat to humanity than global warming, with bacteria becoming ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 25, 2013 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (36) | comments 40 | with audio podcast report


Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA). MRSA is any strain of Staphylococcus aureus that has evolved resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, which include the penicillins (methicillin, dicloxacillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, etc.) and the cephalosporins. The development of such resistance does not cause the organism to be more intrinsically virulent than strains of Staphylococcus aureus that have no antibiotic resistance, but resistance does make MRSA infection more difficult to treat with standard types of antibiotics and thus more dangerous.

MRSA is especially troublesome in hospitals and nursing homes, where patients with open wounds, invasive devices, and weakened immune systems are at greater risk of infection than the general public.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Latest Spotlight News

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans

The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was ...

Finding a family for a pair of orphan receptors in the brain

Researchers at Emory University have identified a protein that stimulates a pair of "orphan receptors" found in the brain, solving a long-standing biological puzzle and possibly leading to future treatments for neurological ...

Common food supplement fights degenerative brain disorders

Widely available in pharmacies and health stores, phosphatidylserine is a natural food supplement produced from beef, oysters, and soy. Proven to improve cognition and slow memory loss, it's a popular treatment for older ...

Study finds vitamin C can kill drug-resistant TB (w/ video)

In a striking, unexpected discovery, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding ...

If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong

(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...

Study shows where scene context happens in our brain

In a remote fishing community in Venezuela, a lone fisherman sits on a cliff overlooking the southern Caribbean Sea. This man –– the lookout –– is responsible for directing his comrades on the water, ...

Evaluating a new way to open clogged arteries

Over the past few decades, scientists have developed many devices that can reopen clogged arteries, including angioplasty balloons and metallic stents. While generally effective, each of these treatments ...

Sugar injections for knee arthritis may ease pain

(HealthDay)—Injections of a sugar solution appear to help relieve knee pain and stiffness related to osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.

Losing weight may ease chronic heartburn

(HealthDay)—Obese and overweight men and women who suffer from heartburn often report relief when they lose weight, a new study shows.