Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Introduction of Paper

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a very serious infection that affects the health of the public. The purpose of this paper is to give the public/reader a better understanding of what MRSA really is. This paper will include the different disease characteristics that come with the infection. Also, it will explain the most recent disease statistics; identify a person’s risk of contracting the disease, methods used to control the spread of the disease, and explain implications for disaster.

Disease Characteristics of MRSA

The causative agent in MRSA would be Staphylococcus aureus. According to the NIH, “The bacteria have been classified into two categories based on where the infection is first acquired” (NIH, 2014). The two different types of MRSA are Hospital-Acquired and Community-Associated MRSA. Hospital-Acquired MRSA has been around for a long time, it usually affects people inside a healthcare facility. For example, people who have had surgery or have had medical devices surgically implanted in them have been known to acquire MRSA. It’s also typically seen in patients who are elderly, or with people with a weak immune system. Patients who have undergone kidney dialysis or using venous catheter or prosthetics have been known to acquire MRSA (NIH, 2014). Patients who acquire MRSA in the hospital have an increased mortality rate and decreased longevity (Rogers, 2013).

Community-Associated MRSA has caused a huge concern for public health professionals because of who can get it. All CA-MRSA strains typically carry a novel type of methicillin resistance locus that appears to cause less of a fitness burden (Otto, 2013). Unlike hospitalized MRSA, which can usually be traced back to a speci...

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