What is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)?

MRSA, commonly pronounced “mer-suh,” stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It is one type of the Staphylococcus aureus germ (commonly called “Staph”). About one in three people have Staph germs on their skin or in their nose, and normally the germs don’t cause problems. Sometimes, though, these germs cause serious infections (called “Staph infections”) on the skin, in the blood or in other areas of the body.

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It causes a staph infection that is resistant to several common antibiotics.

There are two types of infection. Hospital-associated MRSA happens to people in health care settings, for example hospitals. Community-associated MRSA happens to people who have close skin-to-skin contact with others, such as athletes involved in football and wrestling.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bad bug (technically a bacteria, but often referred to as a bug, nonetheless). Like other types of staph, MRSA can live on your skin or in your nose unnoticed until a simple scrape or scratch allows it to get through the skin’s defenses and boom--you may be faced with a bad skin infection. Infections often start out looking like a pimple or a bite and may progress rather quickly. In addition, the affecting
bacteria can stick around in your house and wreak havoc on all who enter.

MRSA stands for “methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus.” This is a strain of Staph aureus bacteria that is resistant to methicillin and a wide variety of other antibiotics, including penicillin.