Is the methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) deadly in all cases?

Ok, I have to clear this up. MRSA is a strain of Staph aureus that has been growing in the community but has been around health care facilities for some time. The reason for it's prevelance is antibiotic use. We are selecting for it's growth. MRSA usually produces abscesses and it enters the skin through a puncture wound or any tear in the skin. Patients with diabetes are more susceptible. If you do develop an abscess, I would wonder why are you developing an abscess. You must have diabetes or be immunocompromized to some point. I know I'm colonized with MRSA but I don't have abscess because I'm healthy. IT IS NOT ALWAYS IN YOUR BLOOD. I draw blood cultures on a lot of my patients that come in with an infection and I look for MRSA. If the blood culture grows something that looks like staph, I treat with Vancomycin until I know it's not MRSA. Persistent bacteremia (bacteria in your blood) means that the patient was not treated appropriatley and I have to continue treatment with the Vancomycin or switch to Linazolid.

It is not always deadly some cases of it can be resolved. But once you have contacted it it is always in your blood.

It is usually not deadly if treated in time, as long as you have a healthy immune system. Once you contract it, you will always be a carrier and it can keep coming back. Carriers have to be especially vigilant, and must seek medical attention at the first sign of infection. It is still very serious, and while lot of people have survived it, some have lost chunks of skin or even limbs.

Certainly not.

Some folks divide MRSA into two types depending on where the patient acquired the infection - community acquired
MRSA and hospital acquired MRSA.

Community acquired MRSA has gotten quite common in some areas - a lot of people are probably colonized (meaning that the bacteria lives on their skin without causing harm) without even realizing it. When this type of bacteria causes infection, it tends to cause superficial skin infections (mostly cellulitis and abscess). These infections are troublesome but rarely fatal. They're often managed in the outpatient setting with oral antibiotics that the bacteria is still sensitive to. There HAVE been some cases where the bacteria goes deeper than the skin (e.g. pneumonia) and these cases can be fatal but the vast majority of community acquired infections are superficial and readily treated without a single day in the hospital. Community acquired MRSA has gotten to be so common in some communities that when a doctor sees an abscess or cellulitis, s/he simply presumes it's community-acquired MRSA and treats appropriately.

Hospital acquired MRSA has different resistance patterns and does tend to be deadlier. I believe that the reason for this is not that the hospital acquired MRSA is deadlier but because people in the hospital tend to be quite weak and because they have all sorts of tubes and lines going in and out of them - the MRSA then hitches a ride along one of these tubes and lines and has a straight shot into the body's interior where it can wreak all sorts of havoc. These deeper infections can be quite lethal - especially in people who are weak for other reasons. People often end up having to stay in the hospital longer when they have one of these infections.

So the fatality of MRSA often depends on the circumstances in which it's acquired. If it's acquired by an otherwise healthy person who's outside of the hospital and doesn't have any lines or tubes in them, it's usually a nuisance (albeit a very painful and troublesome one). If it's acquired by an unhealthy person who's inside the hospital with multiple lines and tubes, it can be much more dangerous.

I hope the media will stop labeling MRSA as a "superbug" - it's an unfortunate turn of phrase that seems to generate all sorts of understandable panic in folks. MRSA IS a problem that needs to be solved with increased handwashing, decreased unnecessary antibiotic use (including use in farm animals), and further research into alternate antibiotics and vaccinations. It's not the end of the world, however.

No it isn't.

No. It is vital that people understand the that anyone can come into contact with MRSA. I have worked in the healthfield for over 30 years as a nurse and EMT and contacted the disease last year while working at a hospital. I wore scrubs, followed universal precaustions, gloves, etc. I have had surgeries, been in the hospital for 34 days (3 different times; about 10 days isolation each time) Vancomyacin is the only antibiotic that keeps the MRSA infections from spreading. My body is full of scars. My heart, lungs, kidnies and liver have been damaged and I have not been able to return to work since June. (I am single and 52 years old; my body feels like I am 90) I am on 14 prescriptions and a seepap(o2) at nights. I have no work or social life and basically "imprisoned" within my own body. I hope that our nation becomes more aware of this disease and its effect. MRSA can be deadly if you do not seek diagnosis and treatment promptly. (sometimes MRSA infection sites resemble spider bites; always be cautious)