MRSA - page 1
Keywords: MRSA, infection hospital superdrug infection methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus
By Einstein10 on 30/12/2009
Level: Foundation Degree
Page Number: 1 of 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Essay Title: MRSA- The Hospital ‘Superbug’
Word Count: 1644
Introduction
Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) related infections are now a global dilemma.1 In 1961 U.K Staphylococcus aureus (SA) reports confirmed this bacterium’s existence and resistance to the ever powerful antibiotic of that time, Methicillin.2 Soon after further infected subjects of MRSA were discovered from Australia, Japan, Europe and the United States.2 From the 25-30% of SA infected population of the U.K, 1% are colonised by MRSA3 and this pathogen is increasingly being discovered from hospitals (HA-MRSA), nursing homes and the community (CA-MRSA).4
There are believed to be many strains of SA5, yet their evolutionary history is poorly understood.2 It is said that they have derived from one ancestral resistant strain of the mecA gene but some recent studies confirm that there are believed to be cross linkages of this gene between many SA.2 The critically ill patient are at higher risk of being infected due to their weakened immune systems and open wonds.6 Precisely 30-60% of colonised ill patients acquire an infection that is caused by SA and amount of days these ill patients spend in hospital is a predictor of the chances of infection.6
Antimicrobial resistance has played its part due to inappropriate uses of antibiotics. Privately owned pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to spend their time and money into research, knowing that the resistant strains could emerge. Today the estimated cost of inventing a new drug in the market is $802 million and the time frame for production is 10-15 years. This could be less than the antibiotics lifetime itself increasing morbidity and morality for the average person. 28
Structure and Function of Bacteria
Bacteria are an ancient group of small cellular organisms ranging in size from 0.1 µm to 10 µm. Bacteria belong to the prokaryotic family of organisms. All bacteria both saprophytic and pathogenic multiply through binary fission and are unicellular.7
When bacteria are arranged according to cell shape bacteria generally always take one of four shapes: 9 Cocci (spherical), like SA, rods, such as bacillus and clostridium species, long branched cells such as actinomyces species and spiral shaped cells, such as vibrio cholerae and treponema pallidum. The shape of bacteria known by means of microscopic imaging, helps in the diagnosis of diseases associated with these bacteria.9
The surface structures of bacteria are shown in Figure 1 and Table 1
Figure 1.The Prokaryotic Cell 8
Feature Function
Size Most 0.5-10 Micrometers in Diameter
Genetic Material Most DNA
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