Question: I am a nurse, and I was recently diagnosed with an MRSA infection on my leg. The last time I took care of a hospital patient with MRSA was six months ago. Could this infection of MRSA come from a patient I saw that long ago, or did I get it somewhere else?
Answer: MRSA (methacillin-resistant Stapholococcus aureaus) is a subgroup of the bacteria which causes staph infections. Typically, penicillin-based compounds are used to kill stapholococcus aureaus bacteria, but this particular strain does not respond to that treatment.
Like all staph infections, MRSA usually begins with small red bumps that look like insect bites or pimples, followed by large, painful abscesses. If these bacteria move into the body, serious and even life-threatening infections can occur.
Stapholococcus aureaus bacteria account for 80 percent of all skin infections. Of those 80 percent, 20 percent fall into the MRSA subtype. Many years ago, MRSA was less common and reported only in the hospital setting. Now it occurs in the community setting as well, hence the newer name, CA-MRSA, or community-acquired MRSA. In recent years, we have seen CA-MRSA contracted among children in schools and day care centers and by people of all ages in the community at large. These bacteria do respond to certain medications, including the antibiotic vancomycin, which is often used with drug-resistant bacteria.
As for your question about contracting a delayed MRSA infection from contact with a patient whom you saw six months ago -- that is highly unlikely. Most bacteria are not able to live outside of the body for more than a few hours.
That said, given the right environment, temperature and humidity, bacteria can grow anywhere, and they could potentially survive for a few months. This would require a wet surface containing certain nutrients bacteria need to grow –- and it would require that the surface not be washed for several months. I should hope that such conditions would be impossible to find in any hospital setting.
Even then, just touching a contaminated surface will not necessarily give you an infection. Intact, healthy skin resists most bacteria and prevents its penetration. Infections most often occur when bacteria enter a break in the skin, such as a cut, scrap, insect bite or cracked dry skin.
As a nurse I am sure you are well schooled in “standard precautions” –- a term that encompasses the medical practices used to prevent the spread of infection within a hospital. Standard precautions include wearing gloves while changing dressings, making beds or drawing blood. All such patient interactions should be preceded and followed by thorough hand-washing, especially when the patient has an infectious condition. When standard precautions are strictly followed, a skin infection should not spread from patient to nurse or vice-versa.
Answer: MRSA (methacillin-resistant Stapholococcus aureaus) is a subgroup of the bacteria which causes staph infections. Typically, penicillin-based compounds are used to kill stapholococcus aureaus bacteria, but this particular strain does not respond to that treatment.
Like all staph infections, MRSA usually begins with small red bumps that look like insect bites or pimples, followed by large, painful abscesses. If these bacteria move into the body, serious and even life-threatening infections can occur.
Stapholococcus aureaus bacteria account for 80 percent of all skin infections. Of those 80 percent, 20 percent fall into the MRSA subtype. Many years ago, MRSA was less common and reported only in the hospital setting. Now it occurs in the community setting as well, hence the newer name, CA-MRSA, or community-acquired MRSA. In recent years, we have seen CA-MRSA contracted among children in schools and day care centers and by people of all ages in the community at large. These bacteria do respond to certain medications, including the antibiotic vancomycin, which is often used with drug-resistant bacteria.
As for your question about contracting a delayed MRSA infection from contact with a patient whom you saw six months ago -- that is highly unlikely. Most bacteria are not able to live outside of the body for more than a few hours.
That said, given the right environment, temperature and humidity, bacteria can grow anywhere, and they could potentially survive for a few months. This would require a wet surface containing certain nutrients bacteria need to grow –- and it would require that the surface not be washed for several months. I should hope that such conditions would be impossible to find in any hospital setting.
Even then, just touching a contaminated surface will not necessarily give you an infection. Intact, healthy skin resists most bacteria and prevents its penetration. Infections most often occur when bacteria enter a break in the skin, such as a cut, scrap, insect bite or cracked dry skin.
As a nurse I am sure you are well schooled in “standard precautions” –- a term that encompasses the medical practices used to prevent the spread of infection within a hospital. Standard precautions include wearing gloves while changing dressings, making beds or drawing blood. All such patient interactions should be preceded and followed by thorough hand-washing, especially when the patient has an infectious condition. When standard precautions are strictly followed, a skin infection should not spread from patient to nurse or vice-versa.
