The surface of the human body contains many different strains of bacteria. Some are potentially harmful but normally live harmlessly in the nose, armpits, groin, and on hands.
Only occasionally can they cause an infection that can lead to skin problems such as blistering, sores, boils, and spots. For the most part, though, these infections are minor and need no medical intervention.
However, sometimes a skin infection can be serious enough to require treatment with antibiotic creams and a course of internal antibiotics, which can help prevent any infection by these bugs multiplying in the bloodstream.
Some strains of bacteria are more virulent than others, and when they do make it past the protective layer of the skin, the infections they cause can become hard to treat, especially if the bacteria have built resistance to antibiotics. This has become the case with some strains of Staphylococcus aureus.
MRSA is a bacterial infection that is also known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This group of bacteria is genetically different from other strains of Staphylococcus aureus. These strains cause infections that are hard to treat and are responsible for a number of deaths around the world annually.
The reason for this is that some strains of staph bacteria have become resistant to many of the commonly used antibiotics that help treat bacterial infections. Therefore, such infections do not respond to antibiotic therapy.
The most common MRSA infection is associated with long stays in hospitals and other healthcare settings, such as homes for the elderly. Hospital-acquired MRSA can also affect those who have had surgery or are on dialysis.
The fact that MRSA needs to get beyond the protective barrier of the skin to cause symptoms makes this bacterial infection far more common in hospitals where surgery and individuals with injuries, including open wounds, are frequently treated.
The most common MRSA infections are those of the skin or open wounds, especially in environments such as hospitals.
Pneumonia is usually caused by bacteria and viruses. These can aggravate the lining of the lung leading to inflammation, which the term pneumonia refers to. Pneumonia can affect one or both lungs leading to a build-up of fluids in the air sacs.
If this happens, then sufferers can find it hard to breathe. In cases such as these, hospitalisation is often needed along with oxygen treatment and drainage of the fluids that have built up in the walls of the respiratory organs.
Most patients recover in two to four weeks from a bout of pneumonia. However, if a patient catches pneumonia as a complication of an existing MRSA infection, then as with the primary infection, pneumonia could be hard to treat or can even become untreatable because of the same antibiotic-resistant staph strain infecting the lungs.
If MRSA enters the bloodstream and cannot be treated due to resistance to antibiotic therapy, then this can cause blood poisoning, which is also often referred to as septicaemia. When this occurs, the body produces an extreme response to the bacterial infection. Sepsis has a high mortality rate because it causes multiple organ failure if it cannot be treated or even prevented by controlling the original source of infection.
Cellulitis is an infection of the deeper layers of the skin. It is often caused by a staph bacterial infection such as MRSA. The symptoms can appear rapidly and include painful and tender areas of skin that are often swollen, red, and hot.
It often affects the legs and is treated with antibiotics. However, if MRSA is involved, then hospital treatment may be needed, and other symptoms such as fever, confusion, and vomiting may also be present.