1. MRSA Slideshow Pictures
2. Take the MRSA Quiz!
3. Staph Infection Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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In this Article

• MRSA infections facts
• What is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)?
• What does a MRSA infection look like?
• What are the signs and symptoms of MRSA infection?
• How is MRSA infection transmitted or spread?
• How is MRSA diagnosed?
• How can people prevent MRSA infection?
• How should caregivers treat MRSA patients at home?
• What is the prognosis (outlook), and what are the potential complications for people with MRSA infections?
• What is the treatment for MRSA infection?
• What is a "superbug"?
• Where are other MRSA information sources?
• Pictures of MRSA - Slideshow
• Take the MRSA Quiz!
• Pictures of Staph Infection - Slideshow
• MRSA Infection FAQs
• Patient Comments: MRSA - Describe Your Experience
• Patient Comments: MRSA -Treatment
• Find a local Infectious Disease Specialist in your town
• MRSA Infection Index

The term "superbug" is a nonspecific word that is used to describe any microorganism that is resistant to at least one or more commonly used antibiotics. Some authors restrict its use to microorganisms resistant to two or more antibiotics. Unfortunately, the term superbug is used in the medical and popular press to describe several different types of organisms which can lead readers to be confused about specific diseases and the infectious agents that cause them. The most common bacteria described as superbugs are the following:

• MRSA (Staphylococcus aureus strains resistant to multiple antibiotics)
  
  
• VRE (Enterococcus species resistant to vancomycin)
  
  
• PRSP (Streptococcus pneumoniae strains resistant to penicillin)
  
  
• ESBLs (Escherichia coli and other Gram-negative bacteria resistant to antibiotics such as cephalosporins and monobactams)

Emerging superbugs may include multiple drug-resistant Clostridium difficile, VRSA (vancomycin-resistant S. aureus), and NDM Escherichia coli (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase resistant E. coli).

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/slideshow_mrsa_pictures/article_em.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/index.html

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/11/7687

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no06/04-0831.htm

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=45809

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_multidrugFAQ.html

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja207142h

REFERENCES:

eMedicine.com. Staphylococcus aureus Infections, 2009.

eMedicine.com. Staphylococcus Infections, 2010.

Kallen, A.J., S. Bulens, A. Reingold, et al. "Health Care-Associated Invasive MRSA Infections, 2005-2008." JAMA 304 (2010): 641-648. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MRSA Infections, 2009

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health. MRSA, 2008.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Genes Key to Staph Disease Severity, 2009.