Methycillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or MRSA

MRSA stands for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. This organism is known for causing skin infections, in addition to many other types of infections. There are other designations in the scientific literature for these bacteria according to where the bacteria are acquired by patients, such as community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA), and hospital acquired MRSA or epidemic MRSA (EMRSA).

What are the signs and symptoms of MRSA infection ?

Most MRSA infections are skin infections that produce the following signs and symptoms:

cellulitis (infection of the skin or the fat and tissues that lie immediately beneath the skin, usually starting as small red bumps in the skin)

boils (pus-filled infections of hair follicles)

abscesses (collections of pus in under the skin)

sty (infection of eyelid gland)

carbuncles (infections larger than an abscess, usually with several openings to the skin)

impetigo (a skin infection with pus-filled blisters).