If MRSA is so resistant to many antibiotics, how are we treating mrsa and can it be cured?

Treating mrsa

As stated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

* "First-line treatment for mild abscesses is incision and drainage."

* "If antibiotic treatment is clinically indicated, it should be guided by the susceptibility profile of the organism."

Fortunately, most MRSA still can be treated by certain specific antibiotics (for example, vancomycin [Vancocin], linezolid [Zyvox], and others, often in combination with vancomycin). Some CA-MRSA strains are susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), doxycycline, and clindamycin, although reports suggest clindamycin resistance is increasing rapidly. For MRSA carriers, mupirocin antibiotic cream can potentially eliminate MRSA from mucous membrane colonization. Studies suggest mupirocin is much more effective than other topical antibiotics such as bacitracin.

A good medical practice in treating mrsa is to determine, by microbiological techniques done in a lab, which mrsa antibiotic can kill the MRSA and use it alone or, more often, in combination with additional antibiotics in the treatment of mrsa in the infected patient. Since resistance can change quickly, antibiotic treatment of mrsa may need to change also.

Many people think they are "cured" after a few antibiotic doses and stop taking the medicine. This is a bad decision because the MRSA may still be viable in or on the person and thus is capable of reinfecting the person.

Also, the surviving MRSA may be exposed to low antibiotic doses when the medicine is stopped too soon; this low dose may allow MRSA enough time to become resistant to the medicine. Consequently, MRSA patients (in fact, all patients) treating mrsa with appropriate antibiotics should take the entire course of the antibiotic as directed by their doctor.

A note of caution is that, in the last few years, there have been reports of a new strain of MRSA that is resistant to vancomycin (VRSA or vancomycin-resistant S. aureus) and other antibiotics make a mrsa cure much tougher. Currently, VRSA is detected more often than a few years ago, but if it becomes widespread, it may be the next "SUPERBUG."

Where are other MRSA information sources?

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

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

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20061201/tips/18.html

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_MRSA.htmlMRSA Infections At A Glance

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