| Symptoms of MRSA Infection |
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Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infection and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is no different. Most MRSA infections start as boils or pimples under the skin. Depending on the virulence of the organism, these boils quickly become painful abscesses. In some cases these abscesses burrow deep into the skin and can cause potentially fatal infections in lungs, joints, bones, blood and the heart. Generally the area infected by MRSA is * Red indicating inflammation * Swollen indicating infection * Pus-filled indicating infectiveness * Painful People with weakened immune systems are at high-risk from MRSA infections. If the MRSA spreads to the lungs, it can cause fever, chills and shortness of breath ultimately leading to respiratory failure and ultimately death. One of the rare manifestations of MRSA infection is a lethal bacterial condition called necrotizing fasciitis, or "flesh-eating" bacterial infection. Staph infections very rarely cause this condition, but it is still a danger in immuno-compromised patients. Surgical wound infections and bloodstream infections are other common presentations of MRSA. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a 2003 study showed that 12 percent of all MRSA infections in hospitals are community-associated. Symptoms of MRSA in hospitals include surgical wound infections, urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia. Among these pneumonia and bloodstream infections are the most dangerous conditions. |