What is MRSA?
The “superbug” explained: what it is, how it spreads, why antibiotics stopped working on it, and how clean hands help stop it.
What it is
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that doesn’t respond to many common antibiotics, including methicillin and penicillin. Plenty of people carry staph on their skin without getting sick. Trouble starts when it gets into a cut, a wound, the bloodstream or the lungs.
How it spreads
MRSA spreads through skin-to-skin contact and through things people share. CDC notes it can survive on surfaces like towels, razors and furniture for hours, days or even weeks, then enter the body through a cut or open wound. In hospitals, hands that move from patient to patient are one of the main routes.
Why antibiotics stopped working
Every time antibiotics are used, the bacteria that happen to survive get a chance to multiply. Using antibiotics when they aren’t needed, like for colds and flu, which are caused by viruses, speeds that up. Over time, strains like MRSA took over where older drugs used to work. There are still treatments, but the options are narrower.
How big a problem is it?
CDC estimates that in 2017 MRSA caused 323,700 infections in hospitalized patients and 10,600 deaths in the U.S., at a cost of about $1.7 billion. Those numbers don’t count the many minor skin infections that never get tested.
How to protect yourself
Clean your hands often
Wash with soap and water or use an alcohol-based sanitizer, especially after touching wounds or shared equipment.
Cover cuts and scrapes
Keep them clean and bandaged until they heal, and don’t pick at sores.
Don’t share personal items
Towels, washcloths and razors can carry MRSA from one person to the next.
Take antibiotics as prescribed
Use them only when a clinician prescribes them, exactly as directed.