MRSA: A Bacterium is Spreading: Staphylococcus Aureus is Resistant to Many Antibiotics

Their golden-yellow color is what gives them their graceful name, Staphylococcus aureus: a bacterium that can cause wound infections and respiratory tract inflammation in humans, among other things. What makes it so dangerous is its resistance to certain antibiotics. Strict hygiene protects. In industrialized countries, the spherical bacteria are among the most important infectious agents of the 21st century. Staphylococcus aureus colonize about one in three people, at least some of the time: The skin and mucous membranes, such as the nasal vestibule, pharynx, but also groin and perianal area are typical areas where the bacteria are found.

Staphylococcus aureus triggers infection

They are part of the normal bacterial flora of the skin and do not harm a healthy person. In hospitals and nursing homes, however, they are feared, and this is where they first appeared. If they infect patients whose immune defenses are already weakened, they can cause protracted purulent wound infections, inflammation of the respiratory tract and blood poisoning. The patients often suffer for months, wounds do not heal, and no therapy seems to work.

Staphylococcus aureus also plays a role as the causative agent of food poisoning. If the pathogen multiplies strongly in food, so-called enterotoxins are formed, which can then lead to the typical symptoms of poisoning such as vomiting and nausea when consumed.

Immune to antibiotics: MRSA

The acronym MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – in plain English, they are immune to a variety of antibiotics such as penicillins and cephalosporins. It is estimated that around 40,000 people are infected every year. According to information from MRSA-net, one in four Staphylococcus aureus infections is due to MRSA. While a few years ago only two percent of Staphylococcus aureus in Germany were multiresistant (MRSA), the figure has now risen to 25 percent, reports MRSA-net on its website.

Until now, infection with MRSA occurred mainly in hospitals, where it is transmitted from person to person. In recent years, more cases of infections contracted by people outside hospitals have been registered. At the same time, it became apparent that MRSA can also occur in animals, and increasingly in pigs. In the United States, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has spread as a causative agent of mammary gland inflammation in breastfeeding women.

Therapy and treatment of MRSA

This type of Staphylococcus aureus is particularly common when mastitis is accompanied by abscesses, according to the results of a study in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology (2008; 112: 533-537). It is interesting to note that most infections were initially treated with antibiotics, which are ineffective against MRSA. Nevertheless, in most cases, cure was achieved with treatment. Most patients could be discharged without complications. There was no failure of therapy or even death of a patient in any case.

Doctors therefore warn against the excessive use of antibiotics effective against MRSA during therapy. They say that regular emptying of the mammary gland by breastfeeding or pumping and possible therapy of an abscess are especially important for successful healing.