How to get infected

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is transmitted to a large extent by smear infections. This requires that infected persons or objects come into direct contact with another person. For example, a colonized door handle may serve as a carrier for the infection.

In addition, staphylococci can also cause further infections via the air, but this is rare. For example, sick people can release the bacterium into the air by coughing and infect other people. Especially in closer contact with an infected person, transmissions are relatively frequent. However, if precautions are taken, such as keeping a certain safety distance or wearing protective clothing, further infections are very rare. Nevertheless, infection with Staphylococcus generally poses a danger, as these bacteria can develop resistances that make them very difficult to kill.

Therapy

An infection with Staphylococcus aureus is not necessarily treated if it is detected on the skin. The reason for this is that some people have the bacterium within the natural, bacterial skin flora.The bacterium is unable to develop its pathogenic properties, which means that the affected person does not show the corresponding symptoms. If, however, the detection is carried out in a blood culture or if the symptoms are compatible with a staphylococcal infection, antibiotic therapy is used.

Different agents are used for this purpose, depending on the species and the resistance of the bacteria to some antibiotics. Due to the nature of their cell wall, Staphylococci, like all other Gram-positive bacteria, are initially sensitive to beta-lactam antibiotics. Among these antibiotics, however, a large number of Staphylococcus strains now exhibit one or more resistances to these antibiotics.

For this reason, beta-lactam antibiotics are often administered in combination with another active substance. This active ingredient is intended to prevent the antibiotic from breaking down in the bacterium. This includes, for example, in addition to beta-lactam antibiotics, other active ingredients with different mechanisms of action can also be used.

These antibiotics include If there is an infection with MRSA, special reserve antibiotics are usually used, since normal antibiotics are usually ineffective. These are often used for this purpose.

Methicillin,
Penicillin,
Carbapenems and
Cephalosporins like cefuroxime.
Clavulanic acid,
Tazobactam and
Sulbactam.
Clindamycin,
Rifampicin,
Clarithromycin,
Azithromycin,
Erythromycin or also
Gentamicin.
Vancomycin,
Linezolid,
Teicoplanin or
Doxycycline