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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a strain of staph bacteria that's become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staph infections.
Most MRSA infections occur in people who have been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. When it occurs in these settings, it's known as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints.
Another type of MRSA infection has occurred in the wider community — among healthy people. This form, community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), often begins as a painful skin boil. It's spread by skin-to-skin contact. At-risk populations include groups such as high school wrestlers, child care workers and people who live in crowded conditions.
- Antimicrobial (drug) resistance: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/antimicrobialResistance/Examples/mrsa/overview.htm. Accessed March 16, 2010.
- Community-associated MRSA infection for the public. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_public.html. Accessed March 16, 2010.
- Archer GL. Staphylococcal infections. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/189395219-4/968689922/1492/1112.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50315-3--cesec33_13717. Accessed March 16, 2010.
- Antibiotic resistance: Questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/antibiotic-use/anitbiotic-resistance-faqs.html. Accessed March 16, 2010.
- Wallin TR, et al. Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America. 2008;26:431.
- Freeman J, et al. Rapid detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 16, 2010.
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