Calm down, folks. The uninformed media has really turned this into a hysteria. MRSA (methicillin resistant staph. aureus) is very prevalent. I see it every day over a dozen times in my busy emergency department. Having MRSA does NOT mean that it’s untreatable. It ain’t the plague! The majority of MRSA cases are succeptible to the following antibiotics that have existed for ages:
Tetracycline, Doxycycline
Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim DS)
Rifampin
Clindamycin
These big guns IV antibiotics are also commonly used:
Vancomycin
Daptomycin (Cubicin)
Zyvox
Bactroban (mupirocin), a topical ointment/cream, is often used and applied intranasally for treatment of carriers.
The majority of Community Acquired MRSA cases are in the form of cutaneous abscesses that can be easily treated. The treatment for these is adequate incision and drainage, proper wound care (sterile whirlpool is necessary in some severe cases), and antibiotics.
More serious cases such as sepsis due to MRSA pneumonia do exist but overall, death secondary to MRSA is rare.
As for any other disease, early recognition is key to the treatment of MRSA. It is so ubiquitous these days that clinicians will assume that an infected wound/sore/abscess is MRSA and treated as such until proven otherwise. So if you get a little sore, don’t let it fester into a huge abscess. Get it looked at and treated early. And if you keep on getting recurrent sores, you’ll need to be treated as a carrier and so does the rest of the family. Additionally your home (or work environment, etc.) needs to me sanitized (steam cleaning the carpet, wipe down commonly touched areas and floors with antiseptic cleaners, wash hands often with antibacterial soaps, ect...). Hygiene is key!
The national average for MRSA cases seen in the hospital setting is roughly 7%. At the hospital where I work at, it’s ~9.5%.
I’ve read where silver is extremely effective in treating MRSA. I googled it and there is even silver bandages, pajamas and bed linens.
I’m not so certain the media is uninformed as they are seeking a panic button in order to push universal health care. Then again, I’m probably just being a little too suspicious, but since it involves children, it does seem made-to-order. Thank you for the information.