The latest disease to win national attention, MRSA (pronounced “mursah”) has been likened to a flesh-eating super bug destined to wipe out the human race.
But it’s not.
The letters, MRSA, stand for “methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus” and represent a variation of “staph” that is resistant to the antibiotic, methicillin, and other antibiotics as well, including penicillin. In the words of a Mayo Clinic spokesperson, MRSA “was one of the first bacteria to outwit common antibiotics,” and this fact is the primary reason for widespread fear of this disease.
It is true that for individuals with a faltering immune system, such as aging persons or individuals coping with serious disease or surgery, the opportunistic staph virus can cause serious health problems. A MRSA infection that starts as a minor skin irritation and looks and feels like an insect bite or a pimple can turn into a painful abscess that must be drained to relieve the infection. The germ can be fatal if its infection spreads to the bloodstream, bones, the lining of the heart, or the lungs.
More about MRSA next time…
