Introduction to MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial strain of S. aureus that that has developed a resistance to certain types of antibiotics, including methicillin, penicillin, oxacillin, and amoxicillin (Farley 2008). The types of infections differ according to whether the MRSA infection was acquired in the hospital setting (HA-MRSA) or whether it was a community acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) infection. The most severe MRSA infections are those acquired in health care facilities and include infections of the bloodstream or surgical wounds, and pneumonia. MRSA bacteremia is often fatal, thus timely and aggressive intervention is critical in patients at high risk of death; for example, ...
